Jurassic Park New Beginnings
by yvonne
Summary: Inspired by Jurassic Park, this is an original story that takes place 10 years after JP. It's full of action, adventure, romance, thrills, and...of course...dinosaurs. : Plus there are a lot of familiar faces, too. So Enjoy! Please Read/Review
1. Prologue and Chapter 1: The Proposal

Jurassic Park: New Beginnings

  


_Prologue_

  


A man, with a can of paint in his hand, climbed a nearby ladder. He poured the paint into the tray and threw the empty paint can to the floor. The sound of the empty paint can, hitting the floor, echoed throughout the underground room. He began applying the second coat of paint to the very high ceiling in the room that he was in. He was in the underground portion of a building known as the VISITORS CENTER. He had been working very steadily, for about the last hour or so.

As he continued to paint, he kept his eye on the giant sized underwater viewing areas, located in one of the walls. That was what this room was for, to observe whatever was out in the water. The man kept looking for what he guessed were some sort of tropical prehistoric fish, but was disappointed that he didn't see a single thing.

He turned his back toward the viewing areas and began to paint more of the ceiling. That's when he heard a thump, coming from behind him. He quickly turned around and looked through one of the viewing areas. Nothing. He made his way down a few ladder steps, and looked through the other viewing area, a little farther away. Nothing.

When he looked back at the first viewing area again, what he saw, caused him to scream. There, directly in front of him, was a very large eye, peering into the room from the other side of the reinforced glass. The eye was huge, but when the creature floated upward some, its teeth were seen. They were even bigger. The sight horrified the man. He tried to climb down the ladder, but his fear got the best of him. His foot slipped on one of the rungs, and he toppled to the floor. The sound of him hitting the floor echoed throughout the room, just like the empty paint can.

When he sat up, the creature had vanished. He sat there quietly shaking, trying to catch his breath. He was beginning to have chest pains, which began to scare him even more. He was finally able to stand up and walk toward the door. That's when he heard the thump again. He didn't want to see that awful thing beyond the glass again, but he forced himself to look. Nothing.

The man sighed with relief and took a few steps toward the door. He looked back one more time, just to make sure, and that's when he saw it. There was a smaller creature swimming past the glass now. Much smaller than the first horrendous thing that he had seen. The way it was swimming back and forth caused the man to get curious about it. He took a few steps toward the viewing area again. Then he stopped again, as he saw the smaller creature coming right for the glass. It rammed its snout right into the glass very hard, producing that same thump, that he had heard twice before. He jumped backwards, and tripped over his own feet, falling to the floor. That's when he caught a glimpse of the much bigger creature again. He screamed again, as he felt his chest constricting.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


Pedro Gonzales was walking down the hallway of a large 3-story building. He was sent by someone high up in the Mexican government, to check security on one of the islands near the Baja Peninsula. He had taken a tour of most of the facilities now, with the exception of what was called THE VISITORS CENTER. He was walking with two other men, asking them many questions.

"Are all of these creatures real? Or are some of them animatronic? They all looked quite real, but there were an awful lot of them."

"They are real. Living and breathing, I assure you," the older British man answered.

"That is just glorious," Pedro said, "I had no idea what I would see when I arrived. I certainly wasn't prepared for this."

"Technology is great, isn't it?" The younger, and much larger man asked.

Pedro nodded. The three of them were on the first floor. The younger man went to a door ahead. After swiping his employee keycard through the reader, the door opened. He motioned for them to go inside.

Pedro looked around the room. It was large, complete with monitors and numerous lab tables. It was very clean. It took Pedro a few minutes to notice another person, working diligently, near the back of the room.

"So what is the reason for this room?" Pedro asked the older man.

The older gentleman looked toward the man near the back.

"Norman, why don't you come over and explain to Mr. Gonzales what it is that you do here."

Norman was one of the lab technicians that worked in the lab. He only worked the weekends, but his knowledge of the island and of the dinosaurs was very abundant. He got up from his chair and walked over to them.

"This room is one of the testing areas. We use it mostly to analyze sample tissues from dinosaurs that have taken ill."

Pedro nodded. As Norman was explaining things to him, one of the lab phones rang. The younger man picked it up.

"Jacob here."

Pedro was close enough to hear the voice on the phone. It sounded frantic, but he couldn't make out what the person said. Jacob hung up the phone and looked at the older man.

"Mr. Envoy, there seems to be a situation near one of the holding areas."

"Oh?" Envoy said.

"What sort of situation?" Pedro asked.

Jacob looked at him.

"It's nothing you need to worry about. It's just a problem that Mr. Envoy has to personally address. Will you excuse us, for just a minute, please?" He asked Pedro.

"Of course."

Jacob nodded and took Envoy into a corner, for privacy.

"There's another problem with the Megalodon Holding Area. Someone was painting down there and the baby Meg rammed the glass . . . again. It scared the man, causing him to have a heart attack, sir."

"That isn't good."

"No, sir."

"Okay. I'm on my way over there. I think Mr. Gonzales has finished his tour. I don't want him going near the Visitors Center right now, so could you be kind enough to get him on a helicopter, Jacob?"

"I sure will. Don't worry."

"Thank you," Envoy said. He looked at Pedro, "Well, Mr. Gonzales, it looks as though I'm needed on another part of the island. I hope you have a safe journey back."

"Thank you, Mr. Envoy. And thank you for your hospitality."

"You're quite welcome. Good-bye."

"I'll see you out, sir," Jacob said, and then he looked at Norman, "I'll be right back."

"Okay, sir," Norman said.

Envoy and Jacob left quickly, leaving Pedro with the lab tech. Pedro began asking Norman questions again.

"So, Norman, there is one question that has been bothering me, since my tour began."

"What's that? Maybe I can help shed some light on the subject," Norman said.

"Well, I am familiar with that Jurassic Park island from a few years ago. I don't remember seeing any water creatures on that island. How were you able to get water creatures on this island?"

"There were DNA samples from different species that were never used on Jurassic Park. That is where they came from. Although the Megalodon is a different story."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the whole mosquito theory works well with all of the creatures that can function on land. The Meg, as we like to call it, lives solely in the water and has a different skin texture, so it would be impossible for a mosquito to bite it."

Pedro asked the next reasonable question. 

"So, how did you create the Meg?"

"It's really quite fascinating. We simply captured two Great White sharks and genetically altered them. The female grew to over 45 feet and has become very intelligent. The male wasn't as successful, I'm afraid."

"What happened to it?"

"It died rather suddenly, a few months back."

"That's terrible," Pedro said.

"The female was already pregnant, though, so the male wasn't a total waste," Norman said.

Pedro was about to ask another question, when Jacob came into the room.

"Okay, Mr. Gonzales. If you would come with me, sir, we'll get you on a helicopter and back home."

"What about the Visitors Center?"

"We'll have to do that another day, I'm afraid. There have been some unexpected mechanical problems in the Visitors Center building. It's temporarily unsafe."

"Oh, I see. Very good, then," Pedro said.

Jacob nodded at Norman and led Pedro out of the lab and into an awaiting jeep.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


Envoy arrived at the Visitors Center, as the worker was being airlifted out. He looked at all the people around the scene, until he found who he was looking for. He smiled and walked up to a very large man with short cropped brown hair. The man was very serious looking. His name was Patrick Bodan.

"Patrick, what happened?"

"Nothing much, really. Just another painter down the drain, sir," Bodan explained. He had a British accent.

"Is he okay?"

"Oh, yeah. He'll be fine. The baby Meg scared the hell out of him, that's all."

"Good. I don't need any lawsuits at this point."

"We need to hire another painter, sir. It still isn't complete."

Envoy became very serious and quiet. He grabbed Bodan by the arm and led him away from everyone.

"Is our little situation with Henry Wu, taken care of?"

Bodan smiled.

"This morning, sir. It seems he had an unfortunate accident in the lab. He won't be causing any more problems."

"Good," Envoy said. There was something else he wasn't quite sure of, though, "Are you sure he was working alone, Patrick? I don't want to get another surprise."

"Yes, sir. He was alone. Jacob and I were monitoring him for days. He never made contact with anyone."

Envoy nodded.

"We're just a few short months from opening this park, Patrick."

"Yes, sir."

"I don't want to hear about anymore of John Hammond's silly ideas to shut us down."

"John Hammond won't be a problem, either, sir. We have all of the background information on him that we need to stop him from doing anything."

"I know. I just need reassuring, that's all."

"We even have information on all of all the possible people that Hammond could ask for assistance. Everything is under control, Mr. Envoy."

"I believe you."

Envoy looked out into his magnificent park. Bodan followed his gaze.

"Soon, the whole world will be in awe," Envoy stated.

June 2003

  


_Chapter 1: The Proposal_

  


_Fort Peck, Montana_

  


Alan Grant walked out of his trailer in Montana. One of his assistants had requested his presence about a 1/4 mile away, at one of the many digging areas. Rumor had it that a complete adult Velociraptor skeleton was found. He got into his truck and drove down the dirt road. He drove slowly and then stopped when he found the small crowd of about 10 people.

"Dr. Grant! Over here! You've got to see this," one of the young college students yelled.

Alan ran over to the crowd and made his way through. He looked down and was simply amazed by what he saw. The rumors were true. In fact, the truth far exceeded the rumors. There, directly in front of him, lay a complete and perfectly preserved Velociraptor. It was, hands down, the best single discovery his team had ever made.

"Who found it?" Alan asked.

Everyone pointed to the same person. It was a 20 year old college student. His name was Kevin Donavin. He had only been a part of the team for a few months.

"Well, congratulations, Mr. Donavin."

Alan walked up and shook Kevin's hand.

"Thank you, Dr. Grant."

"This is a first for our team. A perfectly preserved Raptor."

"Yes, sir. That's what I was told," Kevin said. Then he smiled. "Does this mean I have a spot on next year's team?"

"I think you can assume that," Alan said. "This calls for a celebration. Ladies and gentlemen, let's take a little break, shall we?"

Alan walked back to his truck . Most everyone followed, except for two students, who covered up the find. They followed soon after. Some of the guys jumped in the back of his pickup and two of the female students, Jessica and Beth, jumped into the passenger seat. The remaining people went to their own vehicles and followed Alan out of the dig site.

"Dr. Grant, I thought you found a complete skeleton before," Jessica commented.

"Well, that is true. We uncovered one before, but we weren't able to lift the right hind leg. It disintegrated during the excavation process."

"Oh, I see," Jessica said.

"Dr. Grant?" Beth asked.

"Yeah?" Alan asked, as he kept his eyes on the dirt road.

"Did you have a good conference?"

"Yes, thanks for asking. I think I managed to get funding for next year. I'll know tomorrow."

"That's great. I was wondering, if it wasn't too much trouble, if I could stay on next year?"

"Sure you can, Beth. You're a great asset to our team."

"Thank you," Beth said, smiling.

Alan really had a wonderful team assembled. There were about 6 college interns, 2 junior paleontologists, 1 paleobotanist, 3 geologists, and 2 demolition experts. There were also about a dozen men hired as transporters.

Alan reached the end of the dig site and stopped the truck, when he noticed a limousine blocking the exit road. 

"What the . . . ?" Alan began to say.

He was about to stick his head out of the window to yell, but then he watched as an older, white haired man emerged from the limo. There was another younger man helping him get out. He recognized the man immediately. He got out of his truck and approached the man.

"Mr. Hammond. What brings you to Montana, sir?"

John Hammond smiled at Alan. He was 77 years old now and Alan noticed that he needed more than just a cane to walk with. The driver met Hammond on the other side and gave him his walker.

"Well, Dr. Grant, I'm afraid this is a business call of sorts."

Alan frowned. He didn't want to get involved in anymore of Hammond's business ventures.

"I'm really sorry you came all this way, Mr. Hammond."

"Now, now, Dr. Grant. You can at least hear an old man out, can't you?"

"Well, quite frankly, sir . . . no, I cannot."

Most of Alan's team caught up to them. They were standing a little ways behind Alan, listening closely to the conversation. All of them knew who John Hammond was, of course. None of them had actually had the chance of seeing him in person.

"Please, Dr. Grant. I just need your advice. That's all. I don't need you to do anything or go anywhere. I just need your knowledge."

Alan looked at him suspiciously. Hammond hardly ever told the whole truth. But maybe, this time, he was being sincere. Alan was almost certain Hammond was just trying to reel him in. He took the bait, with the intent of being careful.

"Okay, Mr. Hammond. This won't take long, will it?" Alan asked. He gestured behind him. "I was about to celebrate a discovery that my team made this afternoon."

"No, it shouldn't take long. Please, could we go into your trailer and talk?"

"Sure, why not," Alan said, gesturing toward his trailer.

Hammond's assistant helped the man into Alan's trailer. After Hammond was situated, the assistant left.

"Alan . . . can I call you Alan?"

"Of course you can," Alan said.

"Good, good. Well, then, likewise, you can call me John," Hammond smiled, as Alan nodded. "Anyway, I have a proposal for you."

"I thought you said I wouldn't have to go anywhere or do anything."

"Well, can I be truthful?"

"Oh, please do, John," Alan said, shaking his head and rolling his eyes.

"I would like you to accompany me somewhere."

Alan began to feel tricked, yet again, by John Hammond.

"That doesn't sound very official," Alan said.

"No, it's not official, that is true. But it could prove to be quite profitable to those involved."

Alan was getting more and more skeptical. The last time Hammond was this elusive, Alan ended up running from dinosaurs.

"Where, John?"

"To a secret island."

"Let me guess . . . off the coast of Costa Rica?"

Hammond laughed. It was a loud, hearty laugh.

"No, no, no, Alan. Not this time, I'm happy to say."

"What's this about, John? Enough with the secrecy already."

"Well, Alan. It has come to my attention that a renegade agent from InGen has stolen the embryo vials of every dinosaur species we ever made."

"When did that happen?"

"About three years ago."

"Three years ago?" Alan abruptly asked. He was growing tired of his visitor. "Why bring it up now?"

"Well, we knew that the embryo vials were stolen three years ago, that is true. But nothing ever came of it . . . until recently."

"What happened?" Alan asked, then stopped himself. "Oh, you know . . . never mind. I don't want to get involved in this at all."

"Please, Alan. I need your help on this one."

"No, John. I'm not going to any islands occupied with dinosaurs. You can forget ab-"

"Oh, no, no, no, Alan. This island isn't infested with dinosaurs."

"What, then?"

"It's an island with offices only. Offices belonging to the Biosyn Corporation."

"Biosyn? They're still around?"

"Yes. Unfortunately for all of humanity, yes."

"Okay, John. I have to admit, you have me intrigued . . . a little."

"Let me explain, Alan. About a year and a half ago, we got word that our renegade agent sold the embryo vials to the Biosyn Corporation. About 5 months ago, we found out that Biosyn was attempting to clone dinosaurs using our invaluable information. Information that we've painstakingly collected over the years."

"Were they successful?"

"Yes, they were. Biosyn bought their own island and started construction about 9 months ago. I couldn't believe we didn't catch it right away."

"So, there's a third island now?"

Hammond stared at Alan. He was trying to guess just how interested Alan was in the story.

"Yes."

"Well, isn't that just great . . . ?" Alan said, tapering his sentence off, as it ended in a few curse words.

"Alan, I need you to help me stop Biosyn."

"I am not a super agent. I'm a scientist. How can I possibly help you stop Biosyn?"

"With your knowledge of dinosaurs."

"John, no offense, but I think you have lost your mind."

Hammond laughed again.

"Alan, I can assure you that I am of sound mind. If you and I could fly to this island and identify the different types of dinosaurs that Biosyn has on their encrypted lists, we can prove that they are illegally cloning dinosaurs. We could get them shut down and put out of business, possibly even arrested."

"So, there are computers involved?"

"Yes."

Alan closed his eyes for a second. He didn't hate many things. He hated computers though. Hated them. Technological advances were sprouting up all around him. He suspected that it was only a matter of time before computers would take over his entire job, eliminating the need for himself.

"Count me out . . . again, John. Really, you have come to the wrong place. Why don't you try another paleontologist? I'm sure you can find some ignorant young person to sneak around and get what you need."

"I need someone who has seen the InGen dinosaurs, Alan."

"What's the difference?"

"It's complicated."

"Well, try me."

"Okay. I'm going to be completely truthful now," Hammond said with a very serious tone.

"I thought we were already doing that?" Alan asked.

"Alan, I'll give you $2,000,000.00 to accompany me to this island. I'll give you half of that, right now, if you'll agree to come."

Alan was taken aback by the offer. He stood up and leaned on his desk, trying to get a grip on what Hammond just said.

"I'll deposit $1,000,000.00 in the account of your choice today, if you like."

"John, why is it so damned important that I come with you?"

"Because I trust you, Alan. I don't . . . no . . . I cannot trust very many people at this point. I've gotten burned several times in the past, since I built that park, by people I thought I could trust. Even some of my own family members have succumbed to the temptation of being rich, leaving me to cope with all the red tape."

"John, I'm flattered that you trust me, but I still cannot accept your offer."

"I'll give you $3,000,000.00, Alan."

Alan began to get flustered. The amount of money that Hammond was offering was more than he had ever seen at once.

"Well. That is very generous of you, but-"

"Alan, I thought building an island with living and breathing dinosaurs would be a glorious thing to see. I was wrong."

"Obviously," Alan commented.

Alan sat back down. He was starting to come back to reality, out of his money coma, if you will. The rational man, that he had always been, started to come back. He continued to listen to Hammond.

"Yes, I know it was a bad idea. Now another man is trying to create the same dream, Alan. Another man, much like myself, with a lot of ambition and a lot of money to go with it."

"That's nice, John. Maybe the two of you could get together and compare the amount of death, a park like that creates."

"I don't want Marcus Envoy to be successful, any more than you do. He is only a few months away from completing his project."

"Since it's illegal to clone dinosaurs, why hasn't this Mr. Envoy been stopped?"

"Because he has built his island from the ground up, if you will. His island is totally man-made, built on an ancient volcano. He has used the volcano as a starting point to construct his island. He's built it near the coast of Mexico. The Baja Peninsula, to be exact. Right off the coast of the city Cabo San Lucas. The rules and regulations of our government cannot reach that far. And the government there refuses to see a problem. Mr. Envoy is paying them handsomely for their uncanny ability to turn their heads and not see anything suspicious."

"The politics involved here are beyond my scope," Alan said, shaking his head.

"There's more than politics involved here, I'm afraid. Cabo San Lucas has become a trendy spot for very wealthy people to visit. They even have a Hard Rock Café there," Hammond said, laughing.

"That's great, John."

"Sorry, that was off the subject. Well, anyway, if we were actually able to present undeniable evidence about what Biosyn is doing, we can get past the politics . . . and the money hungry government officials."

Alan got up again and paced around the trailer, thinking. He didn't want to go. That was for certain. But the money Hammond was offering was very hard to turn down. He had been in this exact situation before, with John Hammond offering him money to go to a mysterious place. He did it once, maybe even twice if you counted the Kirbys. Money always seemed to be a viable motivator for Alan. He was always in need of funding for his digs. He was almost convinced to go now.

"John, how long would this little trip take?"

"Only a few days, Alan."

"And where is this island with the computers?"

"It's also located off the coast of the Baja Peninsula."

Alan nodded and cringed as he thought about what he was about to get himself into.


	2. Chapter 2: Ellie's Nightmare

_Chapter 2: Ellie's Nightmare_

  


_Scottsdale, Arizona_

  


Ellie Degler was sitting on her back porch of her suburban home in Arizona. She had been sitting there for about ten minutes, trying to get the strength and courage to go back into her house. She and her husband had been having another fight. 

Mark was always yelling about something. This time it happened to be the phone bill. He was angry that Alan Grant's phone number had come up so many times that month. She had been cooking dinner when he marched into the kitchen, with the phone bill in his hand. He had been drinking and he was waving it in her face asking her if there was something going on that he needed to know about. She had said there was nothing to tell. That wasn't good enough, though. Mark had crumpled up the phone bill in his hands and threw it at her, still screaming.

Ellie didn't want the fight to escalate, so she had run outside. If she was outside on the back porch, she knew Mark wouldn't follow her and make a scene. He never made a public scene, even when he was drunk. That was the only thing Ellie could count on. Now she was ready to go back in and get the fight over with.

Ellie quietly opened the back door and walked back into the kitchen. Mark wasn't there. She breathed a sigh of relief. She walked into the living room. As she was walking to the front door to see if Mark's truck was still there, she heard a noise in the living room. She turned around. It was Mark. He was still there. He was sitting on a chair, staring at her.

"I thought you might have left," she said.

"No."

Ellie didn't want to fight anymore.

"Mark, can we just drop this Alan stuff? Please? I've told you a hundred times that nothing is going on with him. He's just a good friend. I like to talk to him. That's all."

Mark just kept on staring.

"Can we just stop fighting for one night, Mark?"

"Fighting? We're not fighting. We're just having a disagreement, Ellie. Fighting would imply physical contact, don't you think?"

Mark stood up. Ellie started to get frightened.

"And where are my kids?" Mark asked.

"They're with my mother. It's Friday. Remember, we decided they could stay with my mom?"

"I remember talking about it. I never approved it though. Why are you letting my kids go off to places I don't approve of?"

"Mark, it's my mother. Not some crazed person."

Mark didn't like her attitude. He sprang up from his chair, grabbed a hold of Ellie, and shook her violently. She broke his grip and grabbed her car keys. She ran for the front door. She didn't want to stay in the house with him anymore, not even for one more night.

Mark had other plans. He grabbed her arm, took the cars keys, and threw her up against a wall. As Ellie bounced off the wall, Mark slapped her across the face, making her fall down.

"I don't want you using the phone anymore," he demanded.

Ellie started to cry. He seemed so detached from her. He was a totally different person when he would drink. And the drinking seemed to occur more and more frequently. He had been making unfair demands like this for quite a while now. First she couldn't go to the neighbor's house anymore, then she wasn't allowed to use the checkbook anymore, and now the phone. She was crying partly because she was scared, but mostly because she had been weak and let this go on too long now. She sat up.

"Mark. I'm leaving you. I cannot take this anymore."

"Take what?"

"The fighting. And the demands. I'm not going to do this anymore."

Mark pulled Ellie up off of the floor. He shook her for a minute, and then slammed her up against the wall again. He hoovered over her, waiting for her to make eye contact with him. When she finally did, Mark closed his fist and punched her in the face. Ellie fell back down. She watched, as Mark came after her again. She was able to get up and get away from his this time.

Ellie ran past Mark, turned around and pushed him as hard as she could. She managed to knock him down. She grabbed Mark's truck keys that were hanging on a rack near the front door. She made it to the front porch, before Mark grabbed her ankle and she fell. She turned and looked at him. She lifted her leg back and kicked him in the head. She got up as fast as she could and got into Mark's truck. As she was trying to find the right key, she could see Mark. He was already back on his feet and coming through the front door. She fumbled the keys for a few seconds more and then she found the right one. She started the truck and backed up, just as Mark grabbed the side mirror on the driver's side. He let go and started to shout at her.

"I'm going to kill you, Ellie. You hear me? No one leaves me! No one! I will kill you!"

Ellie pulled away from her home. She was crying. She was scared and had no idea where she was going to go. As she drove, she started thinking about what had gone wrong between herself and Mark. 

Ever since Alan had visited about 2 years earlier, Mark had thought something was going on between herself and Alan. He would bring it up quite a bit. He really had started to go crazy or something. Charlie was 5 now. This constant fighting over Alan had been going on for a little over 2 years. About a year ago, the physical violence had started. Ellie was constantly covering up black eyes and bruises. 

Ellie would call Alan in tears at least once a month. Before he would answer, she would always make herself stop crying. Then he would say hello and she would instantly feel better. She wanted to tell him what was wrong, but she could never bring herself to actually saying the words out loud. They would simply talk about nothing, or maybe the dig site or how her kids were doing. When she would hang up the phone, she would always feel better about herself. 

She knew her children would be all right with her mother for the time being. She would call her mother later and explain everything. She needed some time to herself, to think things through. She decided to head for the airport and get away from Arizona for a while.

  
  



	3. Chapter 3: Tim and Lex

_Chapter 3: Tim and Lex_

_Anaheim, California_

  


Alexis Murphy sat in the stands, clapping and whistling loudly, as her brother received his high school diploma. Tim Murphy gave her a stern look, as he walked off the stage. She had promised not to embarrass him, but to his dismay, she decided to ignore that promise.

"Lex, stop embarrassing him," her mother said.

"Sorry, mom. I couldn't resist. Look at him . . . he's such a nerd."

"Alexis," her father said. "Stop it."

Lex looked at her father and coldly nodded. She hadn't seen her father in 7 years. After her parents divorced, her father came around for a couple years, but then was never heard from again. Then, out of the blue, he called to ask if he could come to Tim's graduation. She hated him. She hated him for leaving them with nothing. But mostly she hated him for not being a part of her life. He had just disappeared off the face of the planet.

Tim sat back down in his place, with his diploma in hand. Now he could go to college. He had been taking every Science and Math class that he could in high school. He already had a scholarship set up at the University of California, Berkeley and had an internship set up at the University of California Museum of Paleontology. He wanted to follow in the footsteps of Dr. Alan Grant.

Lex already had an Associate Degree in Computer Programming & Software Technology from Westwood College of Technology in Anaheim, CA. She had completed that program before she was 19 years old, as she went to college while still in high school.

While thinking about what computer degree to go for next, she decided to take her career path in an all new direction. She was currently in her Junior year at the Stanford University Medical Center. She was doing volunteer work at the Stanford University Hospital, where she had been working since her Sophomore year. She already had her Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) behind her, getting a very high score. In addition, she had one of the highest grade point averages in her graduating class.

After the graduation ceremony, Tim found his dad outside.

"Thanks for coming, Dad."

"You looked so grown-up, standing up there."

"That's because he is all grown-up," Lex said.

"Lex, stop it," Tim said.

"Why should I? He hasn't been around us, in like, forever. And now, you want to forgive him for running out of our lives? Well, I'm sorry, Tim. But I'm not willing to do that." 

"Alexis, please calm down," her father said.

"Don't you ever talk to me again," Lex said, pointing at him.

She stormed off towards her car. She didn't look back until she reached it.

"Mom, I'll call you later," she said.

"Lex, wait, please come back here," her mother pleaded.

Lex didn't respond. She started up her car and left the parking lot, leaving the rest of her family standing there.

"I'm going to head home, too," Their mother said. She looked at their father. "Good-bye."

"Bye," he said.

Soon, Tim was alone with his dad. There was a long and uncomfortable silence between them, as they just stood there, staring at the passing cars in the lot. Finally, his Dad broke the silence.

"So, I heard you're going to study dinosaurs."

"Yes, Dad."

"Well, that's good news, son. Did that doctor guy help you get into the school?"

"What doctor guy?" Tim asked, confused.

"You know, that guy that was with you on that dinosaur island."

"You mean Dr. Grant. Oh, no, he didn't have to help me get in the school, Dad. I was able to get an academic scholarship."

"Wow. I didn't know that."

"I better get going now, Dad. I've got a lot to do before the party that Mom is throwing me. Thanks for coming."

"You're welcome, son. I'm very proud of you."

Tim nodded and then shook his father's hand. He didn't feel close enough to him to hug him or anything. Tim got into his Jeep and drove off toward his house, leaving his father there alone.

Lex was driving around and crying. She was very upset with how she handled her father. She loved him, of course, but she was still very angry with him. She decided to drive to her Grandfather's house so that she could talk to him about it. John Hammond always seemed to say and do the right thing when she was upset.

She pulled into the driveway and put her code into the security box. As she drove up the long and winding driveway, she noticed that it was very dark. It didn't look like anyone was home. She was about to back up, when she noticed some lights going on and off near the 2nd floor of the massive house. She quickly got out of her car and ran up to the front door. She was very worried about her Grandpa. A few months ago, when he had fallen down, he flicked the lights on and off several times to get the attention of one of the security officers patrolling the grounds. She glanced around as she reached the door. There were no security officers in sight. Just blackness and quietness.

Lex used her keycard to open the front door. She went inside and quickly made it up the staircase, toward the west side of the house.

"Grandpa? Grandpa, are you in here?" She asked, as she went inside the room she thought the lights were coming from.

To her surprise, and horror, her Grandpa wasn't in the room. Instead, there were 5 dark dressed men. She figured it was a robbery. She turned and tried to run, but didn't get far. Two of the men grabbed hold of her, just as she reached the staircase. The bigger man grabbed her hair and slammed her down to the floor very hard. 

Lex rolled on floor, and then turned to look at her attackers for a brief second. The two men were right on top of her again. They lifted her up and began to bring her back to the room where the other men were waiting. She strained against them, trying to break free. She was successful, after she bit one of the men on the arm. He let out a cry, as she broke free from him. She ran toward the staircase and tried to get back downstairs. She was about half way down when she heard a gunshot. She stopped immediately and raised up her hands.

"Okay, okay. You win," she said, turning around.

The man with the gun walked past the two men. He was staring Lex down, as he slowly walked toward the staircase. He was pointing the gun at her and it was making her very nervous.

"Alexis Murphy, correct?" The man asked.

The man had a British accent.

"Uh, yes. Yes, sir," she said.

"Well, Alexis, my name is Patrick Bodan. Pleased to meet you."

Lex didn't know what to think. These men were not friendly, that was for sure. But this Bodan person was talking to her in a way that was unexpected.

"Alexis," Bodan said, as he reached the staircase, "why don't you bring yourself back up here?"

Lex nodded and walked back up the stairs. When she reached the top, Bodan handed the gun over to the man she had bitten. Now that she was right next to Bodan, she guessed he was about 6'4" and about 250 pounds. He was a very big man.

"Now, this is for biting my dear associate," he said.

Bodan lifted his hand, with lightning reflexes, and struck Lex in the side of the face. The sudden blow forced her head to jerk sideways. She looked back at him, a few tears running down her face.

"And this is for running away, Alexis."

He slapped her once again, causing her to almost fall down the stairs. She looked up at him.

"Please, please just leave me alone. I don't know what you want. I don't know who you are. I just want to go home."

"Oh, Alexis, darling," Bodan said. He always used her full name. "You are not going home . . . not for a very, very long time, my dear. I'm afraid that you have gotten yourself caught up in something that is way beyond your comprehension."

Lex was crying pretty hard now. This man was really scaring her. She hadn't been this afraid in a long, long time.

"Now, Alexis, this is just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

And with that, Bodan pushed Lex down the stairs. She tumbled and tumbled, hitting her head several times on the railing on the way down. By the time she reached the bottom, she was knocked unconscious.

"What are you doing?" One of the men asked.

The man's name was Jacob Darnby. He was also one of Envoy's most trusted associates. Jacob would often disagree with how Bodan did his job. But Envoy had made it clear that Bodan was in charge of this particular mission.

"I'm taking control of the situation. Call Mr. Envoy. Update him on our situation. Tell him we have Hammond's granddaughter. See what he wants done with her."

Jacob stared at Bodan for a minute, thinking about telling him off. He decided not to.

"Okay."

Jacob dialed his cell phone and talked to Mr. Envoy for a few minutes, then he turned the phone off.

"Mr. Envoy says she'll work nicely into the plan. Bring her with us," he said.

"Well, Mr. Envoy is the boss. Grab her. Let's get out of here," Bodan said.

As Bodan and the rest were coming out of Hammond's house, Bodan ran into a young man, who was making his way up the driveway. Bodan was much bigger than the young man and was able to easily wrestle the kid down to the ground. Bodan whistled for 2 of his men. They ran over and picked the young man up. Bodan studied him for a few seconds and smiled when he recognized him.

"Timothy Murphy. Well, this definitely works in our favor. Two of Hammond's grandchildren are better than only one. Welcome to the party."

Tim looked up at him. He had no idea who the man was. He glanced over behind Bodan, and saw two other men carrying Lex. She wasn't moving.

"Lex? Lex!" Tim yelled.

Lex didn't respond. Bodan smiled.

"Timothy, your sister had to be detained. She was quite a handful. Now, if you decide to be a handful, we'll have to detain you, as well."

"Who are you?"

"My name is Patrick Bodan. And that's all you need to know right now, Timothy."

Tim struggled for a few seconds, but the two men holding him were too strong for him. He finally gave in.

"Let's get going, shall we, gentlemen?" Bodan asked.

They all walked a few yards into the nearby wooded area of the estate. There was some sort of military vehicle hidden in the woods, along with more dark dressed men.

Tim watched as they threw his unconscious sister into the back, and then they forced him to get in. He had no idea what was going on. He only showed up there to see if Lex was there. He had gone home to help his mom out with his party. He tried to call Lex several times at her apartment, but she didn't answer. He was a little worried about her. He knew how upset she was, after seeing their dad. He guessed she was either driving around or that she had went to Grandpa's house. As he walked up the driveway, he never thought anything like this would happen.

Bodan was in the back with Tim and Lex, along with about 6 other men.

"Mr. Bodan, who are we going after next?" One of the men, Smith, asked.

"Well, Mr. Smith, since we now have a sort of "kid theme" going, I want you to find the next kid on the list," Bodan said, and then he smiled at Tim. "Kids are so very easily abducted."

Smith started flipping through pages and pages of data. He finally stopped on one.

"Here we go, Mr. Bodan. Jodie Grant."

"Grant? As in . . . Alan Grant?"

Tim sat up a little straighter when he heard Alan Grant's name. He started listening more carefully.

"Yes, sir. Says here that Jodie is his cousin. She's 12 years old," Smith said, reading from the profile.

"Well, isn't that sweet? Okay. Jodie Grant it is, then. What is her location?"

"Chicago, Illinois, sir."

Bodan turned on his transceiver and talked to the driver.

"We need to head to the airport right away. And get 4 tickets to Chicago, as fast as you can."

"Yes, sir," the driver said.

Bodan looked at the numerous men sitting all around him.

"I need four men to go to Chicago and pay Ms. Grant a visit."

Jacob was the first to volunteer.

  



	4. Chapter 4: Viva Las Vegas

___Chapter 4: Viva Las Vegas_

  


_Las Vegas, Nevada_

  


Alan stood in the lobby of the MGM Grand Resort Hotel and Casino. It was about 6:00pm, the day after Hammond had visited. He set his bags down and went to the check-in desk.

"Can I help you, sir?" A very pleasant woman asked.

"Yes. I believe I'm registered here. Alan Grant."

The woman typed in his name and few seconds later, she looked up at him with a smile.

"Yes, Mr. Grant. You have a Glamour Suite. Very nice. I'll get your keycard, sir."

"Thank you."

John Hammond had succeeded in talking Alan into going on his little mission. He was asked to meet with the rest of the small team, assembled by Hammond, in Las Vegas. First thing in the morning, Alan and the rest of the team would go to the island, get the required documents from the BioSyn computers, and then come back to the states. It seemed like a simple thing and that's what scared Alan the most.

"It says here that you're a doctor. What kind of doctor, if you don't mind me asking?" The pleasant woman asked.

Alan was about to answer, but then was rudely interrupted by a very familiar voice.

"He's not a real doctor, don't let him fool you. He just digs up dinosaurs."

The woman looked past Alan, and nodded at the man behind him. Alan started to turn around, but before he was even facing the man, he spoke.

"Hello, Ian."

Ian Malcolm smiled. The two men shook hands. Malcolm was impressed that Grant remembered him. They hadn't seen each other in about 10 years, since the incident on Jurassic Park. Not long after they were helicoptered to safety, Ian, Alan and Ellie were all detained in Costa Rica for about a week, answering question after question about the island. When the Costa Rican authorities were finally satisfied, they were all able to finally return back to their lives. Ian lost touch with both Alan and Ellie after that.

"Alan Grant. It's so nice to see you. Hey, you got a Glamour Suite, too. It has a fabulous wet bar. How's Ellie?"

Alan stared at Malcolm and slightly shook his head, as the questions came rambling at him. The last question caught Alan's attention. After all these years, that guy was still after Ellie. Alan didn't even see Ellie anymore, but he was still very protective of her when it came to this guy.

"She's great, Ian. What are you doing here?"

"Hammond invited me."

"John Hammond invited . . . you?"

Malcolm laughed.

"Yes. Yes, he did. Why don't you get your keycard? We'll talk more in the bar. Sound good?"

"Sure, why not."

Alan got his keycard from the pleasant woman and then arranged to have his luggage brought to his room. He suddenly felt like the simple little mission he had signed up for was about to take a turn for the worse. Why would Hammond invite Malcolm? He would definitely have to ask Hammond about that.

Alan and Malcolm went to the lobby bar.

"What do you say, Alan? Wanna switch rooms?"

"What? Why?"

"I smoke now. I have a nonsmoking room. You have a smoking room. I checked. You don't smoke, do you?"

"No."

"Then why do you need a smoking room, my friend? Come on, hand over your keycard. Be a good friend. Come on."

Alan didn't want to talk to Ian, much less argue about rooms. He handed his keycard to Ian. Ian gave him his.

"I have a feeling, by the way you're acting, that I'm going to get billed for a lot of liquor," Alan commented.

"You are probably on the right track there."

"I have to get my bags redirected to my new room. Excuse me," Alan said.

Alan hoped he could take the opportunity to get away from Malcolm. Ian slapped him on the back and laughed very loudly. People in the bar were looking at him strangely. Alan just wanted to go to his room.

"Don't be silly. I'll take care of that later. So, what did Hammond promise you, Alan?"

Alan just stared at Malcolm, without answering.

"Don't tell me . . . money?" Malcolm asked.

Alan just kept staring.

"Yeah, it was money. How much?" Malcolm asked.

"Ian, I'm going to go upstairs to my room now."

"Oh, come on, Alan. How much?"

"Good-bye, Ian."

Alan smiled and left the bar, leaving Malcolm in the bar alone. As he was just about to the lobby again, he heard Malcolm again.

"See ya tomorrow, Dr. Grant. Bright and early."

Alan just shook his head and waved his hand in the air. He didn't stop walking. He didn't even turn around.

Ian smiled and went back to drinking.

Alan decided not to go to his room just yet. He just wanted to get away from Malcolm. He left the lobby and went into the casino. He was just wandering around for a few hours, playing a few slot machines here and there, when he heard a female voice call his name. He looked around, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from, but he couldn't find the source. Then, he heard his name again.

"Alan?"

Alan turned around and found himself standing directly in front of Ellie Sattler/Degler.

"Ellie?"

Ellie smiled and hugged him.

"Oh, my God, Alan. What are you doing in Vegas?"

"It's a long story."

"I'd love to know anyway," she said.

Alan smiled at her. He hadn't seen her in so long. He had only talked to her on the phone. She looked absolutely beautiful. Her hair was about shoulder length and she was wearing a very elegant red dress.

"Wow, you look great, Ellie."

"Thank you," Ellie said, smiling at him. "Mark and I are here on vacation. Would you believe that John Hammond payed for it?"

Alan nodded.

"Yeah, I would believe that," he said.

Ellie looked at Alan carefully.

"Oh, no. Hammond is the reason you're here, too?"

Alan nodded and then looked down.

"Alan, you accepted another one of Hammond's half-brained ideas?"

"Yeah, I guess I did."

Ellie laughed.

"Well, I guess I sort of did, too. He came to me about a month ago saying he wanted to repay me for my involvement in the Jurassic Park incident. I said no, but he just kept on insisting. He begged me for about a week straight. I finally said okay, so he arranged it to look like a contest that I had won. Mark still has no clue that John even came to see me."

"Wow."

Ellie laughed again.

"Wow? That's it?" She asked.

"Yeah," Alan said.

"Well, what did he offer you?"

"$3,000,000.00"

"Wow!" Ellie exclaimed.

"Exactly. I'd be stupid to turn that down, don't you think?"

"Definitely. God, that man never quits, does he?"

"No, he doesn't," Alan said. "So, did Hammond tell you what was going on?"

"No, not really. In my stupidity, I really just thought he was trying to be nice to me."

Alan smiled.

"Not a chance. Hammond always has some plan up his sleeve."

Alan spent the next half hour explaining to Ellie everything he knew about BioSyn, Hammond, and a third island. After about another half hour of just catching up with each other, Ellie finally had to call it a night.

"Well, Alan, I've got to go meet Mark."

"Where is he, anyway?"

"He's . . . looking into . . . buying . . . a condo nearby. He's talking to someone about it right now. I was bored, so I told him I'd meet up with him later."

Alan carefully watched Ellie as she spoke. It seemed to him that she was making the whole condo thing up. The dramatic pauses in between words grabbed his attention. He didn't let on.

"Okay, Ellie. Well, maybe you'll get lucky and Hammond won't show up at your hotel room door in the morning. Hopefully, he'll leave you out of it."

"Hey, a little espionage could be fun."

Alan smiled at her. She smiled back. He so very badly wanted to just embrace her again, but he felt she would find that a little strange. Instead he started to back up.

Ellie watched him back up. She could tell he was uncomfortable. She took a few steps forward, touched his shoulder, stopping him from moving backwards. She leaned in and gave him a kiss on his cheek.

Alan smiled again.

"Okay, Alan. I've really got to get going. Mark is going to be . . . well, furious. I'll talk to you again soon, okay?"

"Okay. Take care, Ellie."

"You too, Alan. Be careful."

"I will."

Alan stood there and watched Ellie turn around and quickly start to move through the casino crowd. He kept on watching her until she disappeared into the crowd. He stood there about a minute more. Then he finally decided to go to his room. Seeing Ellie really made him happy. But something didn't seem quite right with Ellie and Mark.

Alan got into one of the many elevators and started ascending to his room. He couldn't stop thinking about Ellie. The elevator doors opened on his floor, but he just let them shut. He decided to go back down to the lobby.

He walked up to the check-in desk. The same pleasant woman was still there.

"Hello there," he said.

"Well, hello," she replied.

"I was wondering if you could tell me what room a friend of mine is in?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, sir. We're not allowed to give out personal information on our guests."

Alan frowned.

"It's very important."

"Sir, it is against hotel policy to give out personal information."

"Even if it's important?"

"Sir, I don't want to have to call security."

"Okay, okay. There's certainly no need for that. Thanks for your time."

Alan walked away from the check-in desk and was about to give up, when he thought up another way to get what he wanted.

"Ian," he said to himself, smiling.

He went back to the bar. Malcolm was still there, just as Alan knew he would be. Alan walked in just as Malcolm was hitting on some unsuspecting woman.

"Excuse me, Dr. Malcolm?" Alan asked.

Malcolm looked at him.

"Yeah, that's me," Malcolm said, smiling.

"You have a message at the desk."

"Oh, do I?" Malcolm asked.

Malcolm looked away from Alan and directed his attention toward the woman next to him. He politely excused himself and then followed Alan out.

"What's this about, Alan?" He asked.

"Ian, I need you to do something for me . . . without asking questions."

"Okay."

"Could you go up to the desk and find out where a guest's room is?"

"Why can't you?"

"I tried. She wouldn't tell me a thing. Something about privacy. I figured if anyone could get a room number, it would be you."

"Well, what a nice compliment, Alan. Sure, I'll get the info for you. What's the name?"

"Now this is the part where you can't ask questions."

"Okay. Okay. Name?"

"Ellie Degler."

Malcolm looked at Alan very strangely, but he didn't ask questions. He had promised not to, after all.

"Okay. I'll be right back," Malcolm said. "And you know, I'm going to have to ask a few questions later, right?"

Alan smiled.

"Later. Just get the room number."

Malcolm nodded. Alan watched Malcolm go to the same pleasant woman at the check-in desk. After a little small talk, some laughing, and some flirting, Malcolm was able to get a little piece of paper with a room number on it. Malcolm kissed the woman's hand, smiled at her, and then made his way back to Alan.

"Here you go," Malcolm said, handing Alan the paper.

Alan laughed.

"You truly are amazing. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Look, I'm going back to see that beautiful blonde that was in the bar. I'll talk to you in the morning."

"Okay."

Alan started walking toward the elevators, when Malcolm turned around and shouted at him.

"Remember, Alan. Bright and early. Better get some sleep! No funny business."

Alan waved him off and stepped into the elevator.

  
  



	5. Chapter 5: Grant and Ellie

_Chapter 5: Grant and Ellie_

  


Alan walked to Ellie's door. Before he knocked, he could hear her crying. He was not prepared for that. The suspicions he was having about Mark seemed to be justified. He stood there for a few seconds, without moving. He finally knocked.

Ellie didn't feel like holding all of her emotions in anymore. She was crying loudly, when she heard the knock at the door. She took a couple deep breaths and tried to regain her composure.

"Who is it?"

"It's Alan."

She closed her eyes for a moment. She was certain that he must have heard her crying. She wiped most of the tears away and walked up to the door. She put her hand on the doorknob, started to turn it, and then changed her mind. She couldn't bring Alan into her personal family problems. She didn't want Mark finding out and then taking it out on him. She backed away from the door.

"Alan, I'm fine. I was just about ready to go to sleep. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Ellie, please. Would you please let me in."

"No."

"Just for a minute," he said.

"No, Alan. Just go away, okay?"

"Look, I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm very worried about you."

"Please, don't be worried. Everything is fine."

Alan was still standing in front of the door, but he didn't respond this time. He simply stood there. Ellie waited for a reply, but there wasn't one. She stood there, in the middle of the hotel room, for a few minutes. Still, there was no reply.

"Alan?" She whispered.

There was no answer.

"Alan?" She repeated.

There was still no answer. She waited a few more minutes, just standing quietly with her arms crossed. She walked to the door and opened it slowly. She managed a smile when she realized she was tricked.

"Hi there," Alan said.

"Oh, my . . . you're a sneaky one, aren't you?" Ellie asked.

"I just want to know what's wrong. May I please come in?"

"Alan . . . "

"Just for a minute, Ellie. What's one minute going to hurt?"

"Okay, you win. Come on," Ellie said, finally giving in.

Alan nodded and walked into the hotel room. He quickly glanced around the room, as Ellie shut the door. When he turned to look at her, he noticed she had a black eye.

"What happened to you?"

"Would you believe I walked into a door?"

"No."

"Well, I don't really want to talk about it right now. How's that?"

"Okay."

"Thank you," she said.

"Where's Mark?"

"He's downstairs in the casino."

"Was he up here with you earlier?"

"Yes, Alan."

"So, he did that to you?" Alan asked, pointing at her eye.

"I already told you, I don't want you involved in my personal problems."

"Ellie, if he's hurting you, you need to talk about it and get help."

"Maybe I do need help. But from a professional, okay? Not you. I don't want you involved."

"Why? I want to help you."

"Have you seen Mark, lately, Alan?"

"No."

"Well, he's been working out. He's about as tall as you are, as you might remember. And about 235 pounds now."

"And he feels the need to hit . . . " Alan didn't finish the sentence. He looked at her for a few seconds. "Ellie, I don't think you should be here when he gets back."

"Thank you for trying to help. But I really don't think it's a good idea."

"Ellie," he said, as he walked very close to her.

He reached out and gently grabbed her arm. He needed to change her mind, this much he knew. As he was about to speak again, Ellie gently pulled her arm away from him and winced a little bit. He noticed a few tears streaming down her cheek.

"Are you all right?" He asked.

"Yeah, my arm just hurts a little bit."

"Did Mark do that, too?" Alan asked.

He was starting to feel a lot of anger toward Ellie's absentee husband.

"Alan, please. I don't want to go into the details right now."

"Okay, then I'm going downstairs to find him," Alan said.

He turned around toward the door. Ellie grabbed his arm and turned him back around.

"No. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I think I can take care of myself."

"Listen to me," Ellie said. "He is dangerous, okay? He's somewhat . . . no, completely insane. Do not go looking for trouble."

"I don't want to argue with you anymore," Alan said.

"That's a relief. You can go now, okay?"

"Come back with me, to my room. You shouldn't be here when he gets back. I'm serious. Please?"

Ellie looked into his eyes. He was so concerned for her. She didn't want to argue anymore, either. Alan spoke again.

"That is the only way I would feel comfortable leaving this room. If you were with me."

"Okay." She finally gave in. "Okay, Alan."

They were still standing close, looking at each other. Ellie stepped a little closer and embraced Alan tightly. She started to cry again. Alan gently embraced her, being extra careful not to hurt her again. The two of them stood in the hotel room for a few minutes, with Ellie crying into his chest.

"I think we should get going now," Alan whispered to her.

Ellie nodded.

"Let me get a few things together. It'll only take a few minutes."

"Okay," Alan said, nodding.

Alan watched as Ellie put everything she owned in her suitcase. When she was finished, he picked it up and opened the door for her. They went into the hallway.

"Wouldn't Mark just be able to look up your name and find us?" Ellie asked.

"He doesn't even know I'm here."

"Yes, he does. That's what the argument was about."

"Ellie, I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," she said.

"Well, you were arguing about me."

"He saw us talking in the casino. I shouldn't have been out in the open like that. It was stupid."

"What do you mean, in the open?"

"I came here alone. I lied to you earlier. Mark and I had a fight. A very big fight, back at home. Hammond really was offering me a trip to Vegas, so I took him up on it. I needed to get my head together and decide what I was going to do about Mark. He found out about it somehow."

"Where are the kids?"

"With my mother. They're fine. I talked to them today."

They got into the elevator. Alan put Ellie's suitcase down and pressed the button for the 7th floor.

"So, Mark followed you here?" He asked.

"Yes. He just showed up at the door, barged in, and demanded to know where you were." 

"I'm really sorry about all of this, Ellie."

"Not as sorry as you'll be if he finds you."

"Well, he shouldn't be able to find us. Ian and I switched rooms."

"Ian Malcolm?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, my god. I haven't seen him in a long time."

"You're the lucky one."

Ellie smiled.

"So, you're in his room? Why, may I ask?"

"Something about his room being nonsmoking. I don't know," Alan said, laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh, well, I was just thinking that if Mark did look me up, he would get Ian. That's funny to me."

"Alan."

"Sorry," Alan said, smiling.

"All these years later and you still don't like Ian."

"No, I don't. I guess I'll never change."

"No, probably not. That's not such a bad thing, though. Being consistent."

The elevator doors opened. Alan picked up the suitcase and started down the hallway. Ellie followed. Alan reached his room, opened the door, and held it open for her.

"Wow, Alan. This room is bigger than mine was," Ellie said.

"I guess Hammond was trying to impress me . . . or Ian," Alan said. As he looked around the room, he smiled. "Hey, look. My bags. I guess Ian really did take care of that, like he said he would."

Ellie laughed, as she looked around the room. It was a two room suite. There was a dining room table just to the right of the door and a wet bar, just beyond that, complete with 4 bar stools. Past the wet bar were two plush chairs along with a matching couch, a television armoire, and a sliding glass door on the other side of the room. Ellie went into the bedroom that was attached on the left. This room was enormous, as well. In addition, the bathroom was attached to the bedroom. Ellie was taken aback by the expensive looking and roomy suite. Then, she got serious for a minute.

"Alan, there's only one bed."

"Yeah. I see that. You can have it. I'll take the couch."

"Thanks," Ellie said.

She was relieved that he was making this so easy. Although, a big part of her wished they would be sharing the bed. She was starting to remember her past life with Alan, and it was a much better life than what Mark was giving her now. No contest. She looked at her watch.

"Oh, my god. It's already 12:30am. I'm going to turn in. First, I'd like to take a shower, if that's okay with you."

"Of course it's okay with me."

She smiled and headed for the bathroom. She hadn't even realized it until this moment, but Mark had gotten her into the habit of asking permission to do things. She stayed in the shower for quite a while, thinking about things. When she finished with her shower, she wrapped up in the robe that was in the bathroom and came out.

Alan was sitting on a barstool, reading a label on a bottle of wine. He looked up at her.

"There's only one robe and I claimed it," she said.

He smiled.

"Wanna drink?" He asked.

"Yeah, I could use one," she said.

Alan poured some wine into two glasses and handed one to Ellie.

"Thank you," she said.

Ellie drank the wine and handed the empty glass back to Alan. She went over to her suitcase and found her nightgown. She quickly changed and then slipped under the covers. When she was settled, there was a knock at the door.

Alan got up from the stool and walked toward the door.

"He found me. He found me already. Don't answer it," Ellie said.

Ellie started to get out of the bed. Alan walked into the bedroom doorway.

"Ellie, wait. It's just the concierge. I asked for more towels and a blanket."

Ellie felt completely stupid, as she listened to him open the door and take the towels and blanket from the stranger. It had only been about a half hour and there was no way Mark could have hunted her down that quick.

Alan walked through the bedroom and put the towels in the bathroom. When he came out of the bathroom, he walked to the bed and sat at the end of it. Ellie looked down.

"How long has this been going on with Mark?" He asked.

"Do you want me to count the verbal abuse, or just the physical?"

Ellie looked at him. She could tell he was having a hard time coping with this.

"I'm sorry. I'm just angry with myself for letting it happen for so long."

She didn't want to explain how she choose to marry a maniac and then choose to stay with him all those years.

"What about the kids?" He asked.

"I don't think so. I think he saves it all for me."

Alan was fighting back his anger with Mark.

"Ellie, why didn't you tell me? I talk to you almost once a week."

"I don't know. There were a few times when I almost told you, but then I just chickened out."

"I wish you would have told me," Alan said, thinking. "That must be why you only let me visit your house once."

"Yes. That, and the fact that Mark really hates you."

"Me? Why?"

"Because I talk to you once a week."

Alan nodded.

"And because we have a past," Ellie said.

Alan nodded again.

"And because you're a better man than he is," she added.

Alan briefly smiled at her. He was starting to get uncomfortable with the conversation, all of a sudden. He changed the subject.

"I'm going to take a quick shower, and then try to get some sleep."

"Okay," she said.

Alan smiled and nodded. He got up from the bed and went into the other room to grab a few things from his bag. He came back through the bedroom and went into the shower. About 10 minutes later, he opened the bathroom door and quietly walked through the bedroom. He had decided on wearing pants and a shirt. If Mark did somehow find them, he wanted to be dressed and ready for him. When he reached the doorway, he turned around and looked at Ellie. She was sound asleep in the bed. He smiled. He made his way to the couch. He grabbed the extra blanket, laid down, and covered himself up.

Several hours later, Ellie suddenly awoke and sprang up out of bed. She was having a nightmare. She was dreaming that Mark had found them and killed Alan. She sat there in the dark, for a minute, breathing heavily. It was 3:30am. As her eyes adjusted to the dark, she remembered where she was, and started to feel safe again. She got out of bed to check on Alan. From the bedroom doorway, she could see him on the couch. She smiled. Then she looked closer at him and noticed that the couch wasn't quite long enough for him. His legs were hanging off the side. The more she looked at him, the more uncomfortable he looked to her.

"Alan," she whispered.

He jumped up quickly.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you," she whispered.

Alan nodded. She watched as he started to stretch out his body. Clearly, he was sore.

"Does your back hurt?" She asked.

"Yeah, a little."

"Looks like a lot, to me."

Alan smiled.

"It's fine, Ellie. It's just been awhile since I had to sleep on a couch."

Ellie waited a few seconds before she asked her next question. She took a deep breath.

"Why don't you get into the bed. It's much more comfortable," Ellie said.

"You sure?"

"Yes, Alan. I think we can manage to share the same bed, don't you?"

Alan smiled and slowly got up. He walked across the room and walked up to Ellie. He raised his arm.

"After you," he said.

Ellie nodded and got into the bed. Alan followed her and got into the other side. Ellie covered him up and then moved to her side of the bed. It was like there was an invisible wall between them. They both lay there quietly, on their designated sides of the bed. Neither of them spoke. After a period of silence, Alan drifted off to sleep.

After she knew he was asleep, Ellie turned on her side. She was staring at him. She was looking at him and thinking about how she had broken things off with him. She remembered the day very clearly. He was in the trailer that they shared, working on a research paper. She had walked in and told him that she was taking a job offer in Oregon. At first he was happy that her professional life was becoming so successful. She had left the dig site before, for other jobs, but then she would always come back. That's when she had informed him that she needed more. She told him that she wanted a family, and that she knew he didn't. After about 2 hours of talking, she had left the trailer . . . and Alan. She had packed her things up and headed for Oregon. He had shown up at the airport to see her off. He had kissed her one last time and then she boarded the plane, crying. That was about 7 years ago.

Looking at him now, she wondered why she let such a good man get away. When they first went their separate ways, she almost went back to Montana to see him. Then, as fate would have it, she had met Mark Degler at a conference in Oregon. Mark was a very charming man, who swept her off her feet. They had gotten married about 6 months later and had moved to Arizona. Ellie had their first child, Charlie, about two years later and their second child, Samantha, about 2 years after that. Now, her kids were 5 and 3 years old.

Her mind traveled back to the present time. Back to Alan, who was laying right beside her, in the dark. He was sleeping so soundly. She looked at him and suddenly wondered how old he was now. She was 35. She did a little bit of quick math in her head and figured he was 44, since they were 9 years apart.

She inched a little closer and carefully put her arm around him. He woke up and looked in her direction. He didn't say a word. He just grasped her hand in his and kissed it gently. After a few minutes, he spoke quietly.

"Everything's going to be all right, Ellie."

"I know," she said.

She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep, feeling very safe and sound.

  
  


© 2002 by Yvonne Bartha


	6. Chapter 6: Hammond's New Mission

___Chapter 6: Hammond's New Mission_

  


John Hammond was awakened by the sudden ringing of the phone. He was staying in a hotel in Montana. He hadn't left Montana since he talked to Alan the day before. He had sent his assistant back home because he wanted to have a little independence. He glanced over at the clock. It was 4:30am. He shook his head, trying to wake himself up, and then he picked up the phone next to the bed.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Hammond. Sorry to wake you, sir. We have a situation."

"Henry?"

"Yes, sir, it's Henry. Something, very serious, was just brought to my attention and I thought you would want to know right away."

"Well, what is it, Henry?"

"Mr. Hammond, we have proof that Tim and Lex were taken from your house about two nights ago."

"What? What?"

"John, your Grandchildren are missing. We think we know who is behind it."

Hammond was already reaching for his suitcase and getting his things together, as he held the phone to his ear.

"Let me guess. Envoy?"

"Yes, sir. We have witnesses who saw his number one henchman, Patrick Bodan, take Lex and Tim."

"What witnesses?"

"Some of your security officers saw them."

"Why didn't they stop them?"

"Most of them were taken out, sir. Killed."

"Oh, my god."

"A few made it through and they were able to identify Mr. Bodan."

"Are my grandchildren all right, Henry?"

"As far as we know, yes. There's more, John."

"More? What more?"

"Bodan made his way to Chicago and nabbed him another hostage yesterday evening."

"Who is in Chicago that would interest me?"

"Jodie Grant."

"Oh, dear. As in Alan Grant?"

"Yes, sir."

"Oh, dear."

"John, do you want to go to Las Vegas to meet with Dr. Grant?"

"Let me think a minute."

"Sir, you should tell him."

"Yes, yes, that is probably the right thing to do, Henry."

"Okay. I'll send someone for you right away."

"Good, good. Thank you, Henry."

Hammond hung up the phone. He sat in a chair in the hotel room and thought about how scared his grandchildren must have been. And Jodie Grant. She must have been frightened, too. Hammond wasn't quite sure how this whole mess was going to impact his plans. He would worry about that later. Right now, he needed to get out of Montana and get to Las Vegas. He only had about 3 hours before Grant, Malcolm and the rest of the team left for the island.

  
  
  


© 2002 by Yvonne Bartha


	7. Chapter 7: Mr Marcus Envoy, Madman

_____Chapter 7: Mr. Marcus Envoy, Madman_

  


_70 Miles West of the Baja Peninsula - Nighttime_

  


Tim was sitting in the dark, shivering. He was in some sort of military aircraft. He and Lex were forced to sit somewhere near the back and there was no heat there. 

His sister was right next to him. Lex was unconscious for a lot of the mysterious journey. She was still unconscious. Tim had been out for most of the trip, as well. There was one instance, that Tim vaguely remembered, when Lex awoke at some point. An unknown man approached them and gave them both some sort of an injection.

Now Tim had been awake for the last half hour or so. He had no idea where they were. All he knew for certain, is that it had something to do with his Grandfather. He had overheard some of the men talking before he was forced into unconsciousness. While deep in his thoughts, he heard some movement in the darkness, next to him.

"Lex?" He whispered.

There was a long pause before he finally got an answer.

"Yeah," she said. "Tim, where are we?"

"I'm not sure yet."

With Lex being awake, Tim filled her in on all that he knew. He told her how Bodan was able to get him, too. Then he explained to her how they were transported to some sort of large military aircraft and that he didn't know the destination.

As they were whispering, the aircraft landed somewhere. Tim could feel the wheels touch down on the ground. The large door of the military aircraft opened from the rear. It was still quite dark outside, so they couldn't see much better. Tim noticed the silhouette of a man coming into the back of the aircraft. Tim and Lex were both understandably frightened.

"Okay. Get up. Follow me. Both of you," the man ordered.

Tim and Lex did what they were told. As they emerged from the aircraft, Tim looked all around him, trying to figure out where he was. It was too dark to see much more than trees. The ocean could also be heard, or at least some sort of body of water. He squinted in the direction they were being pushed and noticed a building. A man opened the door. Another man from behind them shoved them into the building.

When everyone was inside, the door was shut. There was total darkness for a few seconds, then someone turned on a flood light from behind Tim and Lex. Most of the room was illuminated, with the exception of the corners. They were hidden in the shadows, since there was no direct light aimed that way. A tall man emerged from a door in the rear of the room. He walked very slowly. Tim guessed he was about 55-60 years old. He walked up to Tim and Lex, and then stopped.

"Hello. I am truly sorry about all the secrecy," he said. Then he looked at Lex. "And all the violence."

This man also had a British accent.

Tim had a million questions. He was trying to get them situated in his head, so that he could ask one, when Lex beat him to it.

"Where are we? Who are you?" She asked.

The tall man laughed.

"My, you're one of those right-to-the-point people, aren't you?"

"Just answer the question," Lex demanded.

Tim lightly bumped into her, to get her attention. She looked at him.

"Don't make him mad," he whispered to her.

"Mad? I'd say that I'm the one mad," Lex said. She looked at the tall man. "Please, where are we?"

"Very well, then. You are on Isla Norte. Welcome to my life's work."

Tim and Lex were still confused. Lex spoke up again, to Tim's dismay.

"Well, that's nice. Where is Isla Norte?"

"Near Mexico, my dear."

Tim wanted answers, too. He decided to get into the conversation with a nicer attitude.

"Sir, why are we here? Please, just level with us."

"You are here because of your Grandfather. Unfortunately for the both of you, Mr. Hammond has involved himself in matters that do not concern him. And that's all you need to know for now, I'm afraid. This will be your home for now. We are building a more secure room for you to stay in, but it will not be ready until tomorrow."

The tall man turned around to leave through the rear door.

"Wait," Lex said.

He turned around and spoke before Lex could. 

"I'm not answering more questions. I would like to make one more comment, though. You see how they are locking the doors and boarding up the windows in this room?"

Tim and Lex nodded.

"Well, it really isn't to keep you inside this building. It is to keep what is out there . . . out of this building."

Tim looked at Lex. She shrugged and shook her head. Neither of them understood fully what he was alluring to. The tall man noticed this, too.

"All that I am saying . . . do not go outside. Breaking out of this building would probably be very easy for two clever young people, like yourselves. But, don't attempt it. You will not be happy with what you run into out there. Trust me."

The tall man turned around and headed for the back again. All of the men followed, leaving Tim and Lex alone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


The tall man went through another door and ended up outside. There were several men with machine guns surrounding the area. They were lined up all the way to the helicopter that was waiting for the tall man. As the man got closer to the helicopter, a woman came out of it and hurried over to him. She was looking nervously around, as she approached. She was his assistant, Loretta Hart.

"Loretta, you need to relax., dear."

"Mr. Envoy, we should be going right now, sir."

"I know, I know. I'm coming."

Loretta took his arm and helped him in. Marcus Envoy was a 63 year old man. In his day, he was a brilliant scientist, developing several inventions for NASA. He was rewarded handsomely for his inventions and had been saving all of his money for some future endeavor.

Back in 1993, when he read about John Hammond's little island experiment, he was enthralled. He had used a fair amount of money to get all the information that he could about it. Then, back in 2001, he was blessed with the best thing possible. He was visited by an agent from the InGen Corporation. He never even got the man's name, as the man was very secretive. The agent agreed to get samples of every dinosaur embryo that he could find. When he delivered, Envoy was overcome with joy. Of course, he had the delivery analyzed for accuracy. When the results came back, Envoy was very happy. Not only were the contents the real thing, but there were six additional species of dinosaurs included. Apparently, Hammond had authorized other species, but decided not to produce them. Most of the six species were carnivorous.

He brought his newly acquired find to the Biosyn Corporation in the latter half of 2001. After researching all the provided test results, they decided on bringing Envoy on board, so they could use his discovery. They had offered Envoy a position in the company. He refused at first, and then finally agreed. They offered him the job of CEO. He would have been really foolish to turn that down.

After his new appointment in the company, Envoy immediately began dreaming about people visiting an island with dinosaurs. An island with dinosaurs they had never seen before, not even on Hammond's island. Dinosaurs that were more dangerous than any living thing today. He began dreaming about an island with better security. An island with solar power. An island where computers would run security, but couldn't be re-programmed by would-be back stabbers. An island with monorails and aerial tours. An island completely safe for visitors.

It would be several months after that agent visit in early 2001, before he would be able to find the perfect location, the perfect trustworthy people to work with, and the perfect government in which to deal with. Everything was coming together beautifully. Until John Hammond found out and began to assemble a team to stop Envoy's dream from coming a reality. The island was already built. The dinosaurs were already produced. Of course, there was all the little tweaking that still needed to be done, but the only real things missing were the visitors and the millions of dollars expected to roll in. Then, John Hammond was suddenly threatening all of it. He had to be stopped.

When his associate, Mr. Bodan, found Lex and Tim in Hammond's house, Envoy decided to go after the children. He knew that Hammond had met with Alan Grant, so he authorized Grant's cousin to be taken. He knew very little about the rest of Hammond's team. There were rumors that Ian Malcolm would be involved, but there was no sufficient proof as of yet. Grant was the only one he knew for sure had met with Hammond. Envoy hoped that by holding innocent children hostage, Grant and Hammond would back off. He would sit tight and wait to see how they reacted.

If it came to actually threatening the lives of innocent children, Envoy would do so. His dream was right on the brink of becoming something great. He wouldn't let Hammond defeat him. He would do anything he had to in order to stop Hammond. His island would survive and flourish, no matter what.

  
  
  


© 2002 by Yvonne Bartha


	8. Chapter 8: Plans Change

_______Chapter 8: Plans Change_

  


Alan slowly opened his eyes and rolled over. Ellie was sound asleep, right next to him. He glanced over at the clock. It was 5:30am. He decided to let Ellie sleep a little longer. He gently made his way out of the bed and went to take a shower.

Ellie continued to sleep. She was having another nightmare. Only this one wasn't made up. She was reliving one of her own personal wars with Mark. She kept stirring, as the nightmare went on. It was the first time Mark had hit her. He was drunk and had gone into Charlie's room to yell at him about leaving a toy on the floor. Charlie was way too young to understand, of course. Mark only succeeded in making Charlie cry. Ellie had gone into the room to try and reason with Mark, but was pushed out of the room. Mark came out of Charlie's room and slammed the door. He walked right up to Ellie, grabbed her by the throat, and then slapped her in the face, knocking her down. Ellie sat on the floor of the living room for quite a long time, just holding her nose. It was bleeding really bad. Mark threw his hands up in the air and then left the house. He didn't come back all night.

After Alan was finished with his shower, he went back to the bed. He gently sat on the edge of the bed and just watched Ellie sleep. As he looked at her, he realized what a truly stupid person he really was. He let the love of his life go without much of a fight. Maybe, if he had fought a little harder, Ellie wouldn't have left and she would have never met Mark Degler. 

He leaned over and carefully moved a strand of hair away from her face. He was very careful, but still managed to wake Ellie up. She opened her eyes, as she was startled awake. She looked at him and realized where she was. She was very happy to know that she was just dreaming. Alan smiled at her.

"Good morning, sunshine."

Ellie smiled. That was what Alan used to say to her every morning when they would wake up. She really wanted to kiss him suddenly, but she stopped herself. At this point, a move like that would be hard to explain.

"Good morning," she said, stretching out her arms.

"Did you sleep okay?"

"Yeah, I did. Thanks."

Alan nodded.

"The shower is all yours. I'm supposed to meet Ian downstairs sometime between 6 and 7 o'clock. God, I'm not looking forward to that, let me tell you."

Ellie laughed. She made her way to the bathroom. Before she closed the door, she called out to Alan.

"Could you get me some coffee?"

"Black, right?"

Ellie smiled.

"Right."

"I'll get right on it," Alan said.

Alan fiddled with the coffee maker that was in the room. When he plugged it in, it suddenly began to spark, quickly catching fire. He pulled the cord from the wall and started to frantically throw water on the coffee maker. When he finally had the fire contained, he just stood there, looking at the mess he had just made. The fire had traveled very quickly. The entire wall, where the thing was plugged in, was scorched, all the way to the ceiling. He shook his head and went to the phone.

"This is Al . . . uh, Ian Malcolm . . . in room 717. I would like some coffee brought up. Yes, I know there's a coffee maker in the room. Yes, I found that. The one in this room doesn't work. Yes. Okay, thanks."

As Alan hung up the phone, Ellie came out of the bathroom. She looked around and saw the mess, and then she looked at him.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing. All I did was plug that damn thing in," Alan said, pointing at the coffee maker.

Ellie laughed at him. Alan looked at the burn marks on the wall and then he looked back at Ellie, who was still laughing. He finally smiled.

"Ha, ha, ha. I'm going to get some ice for my soda," he said.

Ellie nodded. As Alan opened the door, he looked back at her.

"I ordered some coffee for you. It should be here shortly."

"Thanks," Ellie said.

Alan walked out of the room. Ellie shut the door back and began to get dressed.

Alan had to walk down a few hallways to find the ice machine. He found it and then began the trek back to the room. When he reached the room, there was a man there with the coffee, about to knock on the door.

"Oh, here, I'll get that," Alan said.

He gave the man a tip. The man nodded, smiled, gave Alan the coffee, and then left. It was then that Alan realized he had forgotten to take the keycard with him. He knocked on the door. Ellie didn't open it. He knocked again.

The door quickly opened. Before Alan knew what happened, he was grabbed by a man and pulled into the room forcefully. Hot coffee spilled on him, as he fell to the floor. He still didn't see who grabbed him. As soon as he hit the floor, his attacker was right on top of him, hitting him in the face. After a few seconds, Alan was able to push the man away from him. He slowly stood up and looked around the room. He saw Ellie on the floor, next to one of the chairs. Her mouth was bleeding. He turned his attention toward his attacker. It was fairly easy to guess who it was.

"Well, hi there, Mark," he said.

Mark was furious. He had gone back to Ellie's room and didn't find her. All of her things were gone. He had found out which room Alan was staying in and had found some other person. He recognized the man, though. So he had found out which room Ian Malcolm was in and had found Ellie there. They had talked for a few seconds, and then he had gone after Ellie in a rage. Mark had thrown Ellie to the floor and had been pacing back and forth, when Alan had knocked. Now, he went after Alan again.

"Mark!" Ellie yelled, but it was no use.

Mark charged at Alan. This time Alan was more prepared. Mark ran into him and Alan deflected his body and shoved him to the right. Mark fell into the dining table. He ran into it at an awkward angle, and ended up flipping the small circular table over. Alan walked past Mark and farther into the room.

"Let's try and calm down, okay?" Alan asked.

Mark stood up and threw one of the dining chairs in anger. He stared at Alan.

"I'm going to kill you," he said. Then he looked at Ellie. "Both of you."

Alan was close enough to smell the alcohol on his breath.

"Nobody needs to die here. You need to calm down," Alan said again.

Mark reached under his shirt and pulled out a gun. Ellie was shocked. Alan quickly backed away from him.

"Somebody is going to die. Right now," Mark said, waving the gun around.

"Look, Mark, John Hammond is waiting downstairs for me. Right now," Alan calmly said. "If I'm not there in the next few minutes, Hammond will send some people up here to find me. If you kill me, you won't get far. Hammond's men will find you."

"Is that so?" Mark asked.

"Yes," Alan said, hoping that Mark would believe his lie.

There was a knock at the door. Mark was closest to the door, but his back was to it. When he heard the knock, he turned around. Alan seized the moment. He grabbed the lamp that had fell to the floor, hit Mark in the head, and managed to knock him out.

He ran to Ellie, who was trying her best to get up. He helped her and the two of them walked over Mark and opened the door.

It was Malcolm. He looked at Alan and Ellie and shook his head.

"Are you two lovebirds ready to go?" Malcolm asked.

Alan just shook his head. As Alan and Ellie left the room, Malcolm saw a man on the floor, unconscious.

"Who is that?"

"My husband."

"Why is he on the floor?" Malcolm asked Ellie. He looked at Alan. "Don't tell me. I don't want to know."

Alan didn't say a word. He just looked at him.

"Ian, my husband is very . . . mean. Alan was helping me," Ellie said.

"I suggest we go downstairs to talk about this," Alan added.

Alan turned around quickly and went back in the room.

"What are you doing?" Ellie asked, concerned.

"Getting the gun," Alan said, as he pried the gun from Mark's hand.

"Gun?" Ian asked. "He had a gun?"

"Later," Alan said to him.

The three of them got into the elevator. No one said a word. The elevator stopped on the lobby floor and opened. Malcolm got out first, and then Alan and Ellie followed.

"Where are we supposed to meet Hammond's team?" Alan asked Malcolm.

"I don't know. I thought you knew," Malcolm answered.

"No."

"Well, let's try the bar," Malcolm offered.

"No, let's not," Alan said.

"You are so very uptight, my friend. You could use a drink," Malcolm said.

"Ian, you are. . . " Alan began to say, as he pointed in Malcolm's face.

Ellie grabbed Alan's arm.

"Please don't finish that sentence," she said to him.

Malcolm put his hands up, in a surrendering gesture.

"All right, all right. I give up. I'll leave you alone," Malcolm said.

"Good," Ellie said, nodding at Malcolm. Then she looked at Alan. "You really don't know where Hammond's team is supposed to be?"

"No, I don't. If I had to guess, I figured they would have met with us at our rooms," Alan answered.

"Hey, Ellie?" Malcolm asked. "Does this mean you're joining us?"

Ellie thought about that question for quite a while. She looked at Malcolm, and then she looked over at Alan.

"Yeah. I think it would be . . . safer . . . for me to accompany the two of you."

"Well, let's try and find Hammond's guys and get this show on the road," Alan added.

"Should we split up?" Malcolm asked.

"Probably," Alan said.

As the three of them were figuring out what to do, an oriental man walked up to them. He looked directly at Alan.

"Dr. Grant?"

Alan looked at the man in a weird way. He was sure he had seen him somewhere before. He finally answered, after Ellie gently hit his arm.

"Uh, yes, yes. I'm Dr. Grant. What can I do for you?"

"Ah! Dr. Grant, I was hoping that was you. My name is Henry Wiggans. I am Mr. Hammond's personal assistant. I believe we met in Montana a couple of days ago."

Finally, Alan could place the familiar face.

"Yes. I remember you. Are you a part of Hammond's team?"

Henry laughed.

"Oh, no, Dr. Grant. I am here with Mr. Hammond. The team won't arrive for about another hour or so."

Malcolm walked in front of Alan.

"Excuse me, hello . . . I'm Ian Malcolm. How do you do?"

Malcolm and Henry shook hands.

"Now that's out of the way. I thought Hammond's team was due to meet us at 7:00am? It's already 7:30am. I can't help but notice . . . Henry . . . that there are no signs of Hammond's team."

Henry was beginning to look a little uneasy.

"Well, Dr. Malcolm, the team had to be re-evaluated and re-assembled because of an unforseen emergency."

Malcolm pointed at the man and yelled.

"HA! You see, Chaos Theory is playing a solid role in this little adventure. You see, Henry, there is no such thing as an unforseen event . . ."

"Shut up, Ian," Alan said. He looked at Henry. "What kind of an emergency?"

"I believe that is Mr. Hammond's place to fill you in. Please, won't the three of you come with me? Mr. Hammond has a conference room booked here at the hotel."

Alan shrugged.

"Sure. Lead the way, Henry."

Henry walked off toward one of the many conference rooms in the MGM Grand. Alan and Ellie followed. Malcolm was still standing in the same place, shaking his head.

"We are all doomed," he said, as he finally started to walk in Henry's direction.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


Henry opened the door to the conference room. He looked inside, and after he made sure Mr. Hammond was ready for the visitors, he let them in.

Alan went first.

"John, what is going on?"

Hammond didn't get out of his chair. He talked from where he was.

"I'm afraid something terrible, just terrible, has happened."

"Well, out with it, old man," Malcolm said.

"Ian," Ellie scolded him.

Hammond got up from his chair very slowly, with help from Henry.

"Alan, my grandchildren have been taken."

Alan stood there, not really putting it all together. Ellie spoke up.

"Tim and Lex?" She asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid so," Hammond said.

"Oh, my god. Are they okay?" Alan asked.

"They haven't been harmed, as of yet," Hammond said, looking down. "And that's not all."

"What else?" Alan said, knowing that he wasn't going to like the answer.

"They have also taken a little 12 year old girl," Hammond said. He finally looked up at Alan. "Your cousin, Jodie."

Alan was shocked. Jodie was actually Alan's second cousin. She was the daughter of Richard Grant, Alan's cousin.

"Jodie? Why the hell would they take Jodie?"

"Take it easy, Alan," Hammond said, trying to calm him down a little.

"I don't think so. Where did they take them?" Alan demanded.

"To Isla Norte."

"Where is that?" Ellie asked.

Malcolm knew. He answered before Hammond could.

"The third dinosaur island. It's near Mexico."

Alan threw his hands up in the air. He hadn't heard the name of the third dinosaur island until that moment.

"Well, isn't that just great!?" He yelled.

He started to nervously pace back and forth. Ellie went to him and tried to calm him down. She was able to stop him from pacing. She managed to get him to look at her.

"Alan," she whispered. "She's going to be okay. You need to calm down. Please, just calm down. We'll get a plan together to save them. Please, just try to breathe."

As Ellie continued to relax Alan some, Malcolm walked up to Hammond.

"So, what's the plan? Another rescue mission?" He asked.

"Yes. I have brought together three mercenaries to bring back the innocent children."

Alan interrupted.

"So, how long have you known this, John? Before you came to see me? Before Malcolm? How about Ellie? Before her, too?" Alan asked. He was beyond angry.

"Please, I assure you, I knew nothing of this until 4:30 this morning. I got here just as soon as I could. I'm very sorry."

"You're sorry? You're always sorry," Alan said, staring at Hammond. "When do we leave? I want to get underway as soon as possible."

"The men should be here within the half-hour," Henry offered.

"Does Richard Grant know his daughter is missing?" Alan asked.

"No, he doesn't. Not yet. She is enrolled in a private school and isn't due home for three weeks," Henry answered.

"So, the school knows?" Ellie asked.

"Yes, the school knows and has been cooperating with us," Hammond said.

"What did you do, pay them off, too?" Alan snapped.

Ellie grabbed his arm.

"Maybe we should take a walk. Okay, Alan?"

"You guys really shouldn't wander around the hotel with your gun-wielding husband on the loose," Malcolm said.

Hammond looked at the three scientists in a puzzled manner. He hadn't known a thing about Ellie's husband. He made a mental note to himself, to check into that.

Ellie hadn't thought about Mark since she walked into the conference room. Malcolm made a good point.

"The conference room next door is unoccupied, if the two of you would like to go there," Henry offered.

Ellie nodded.

"Yes. That's a good idea," she said. She looked at Alan. "Come on. Let's go next door."

She didn't give Alan a chance to answer. She pulled him toward the door and out of the room. When they were inside the other conference room, Ellie just stood back and let Alan take out his frustrations on the furniture. He threw several chairs around, pounded the table with his fists, and then hit the walls over and over again. After a few minutes of this, he finally settled down and collapsed into one of the chairs that was still upright. Ellie knelt down next to him.

"You didn't hurt yourself, did you?" She whispered.

He looked up at her. She noticed his eyes were watered up. He stared at Ellie for a bit, as a million thoughts ran through his head. He finally spoke.

"I have never even met her," was all that he could manage to say.

"Jodie?"

"Yeah."

Ellie leaned toward Alan and embraced him.

"She's going to be fine because you and I are going to get her out of there."

  
  
  


© 2002 by Yvonne Bartha


	9. Chapter 9: Welcome To The Island

_________Chapter 9: Welcome To The Island_

  


_70 Miles West of the Baja Peninsula - Daytime_

  


Jodie Grant was sitting quietly in a helicopter. She had only been awake for about 5 minutes. She looked around the helicopter, trying to get her bearings. She counted four dark dressed men in the helicopter, plus two pilots. Behind the pilots, sitting in separate bucket seats, were two of the men. In the rear, in a bench-like seat, were the other two men. Jodie was also in the rear, in between the two men on the bench-like seat. As far as she could tell, all of them were armed. She was understandably scared. She looked at the man to her right.

"Where are you taking me?" She asked the stranger.

He looked at her, with a blank expression on his face.

"No talking," he simply said.

Jodie obeyed the man. She just sat there, trying to figure out what had happened.

She had been whisked away in the middle of the night by some strangers. She had been sound asleep in her dorm room, when two men came crashing through the 4th floor window, into her room. She was startled out of bed and quickly tried to run to the door. She was met by two additional men there. There were three other girls in the dorm room with her, and all of them, including Jodie, had been screaming. One of the men had come very close to Jodie and had injected her with something. She had instantly felt wobbly and sleepy. That was the last thing she remembered. Now, as she woke up, she found herself on her way to some unknown destination.

The man on her left looked down at her.

"You have no idea why you are so important, do you?" He asked.

Jodie shook her head. She could feel herself shaking.

"Where am I?" She asked again, hoping this other man would be more helpful.

"You're in very good hands, don't worry," he answered.

Jodie was growing tired of the confusing questions and answers.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"I will be your only friend on our little journey, so don't act up," he said.

Jodie was about to temp fate, and ask another question, when the co-pilot interrupted.

"Jacob. ETA five minutes."

Jacob looked away from Jodie.

"Thank you, Frank," he said.

He looked back at Jodie.

"I think that in about five minutes, a lot of your questions will be answered," he said, smiling.

Jodie didn't say anything. Jacob looked out the window and she followed his gaze. There was nothing but ocean and a small island coming into view, in the distance.

The five minutes went by quickly. Jacob leaned forward and shouted to the co-pilot.

"Frank. Let's not land right away. Let's show our . . . guest . . . the, what should I call it? The scenery," he said.

"Yes, sir," Frank said.

The helicopter flew North and started to make a circle around the island in a counterclockwise direction.

Jacob was looking below, when he smiled and looked back at Jodie.

"Look down there," he said, pointing.

Jodie did what she was told. She wasn't sure what she would see when she looked down there. One thing for sure, she wasn't prepared for what was down there. She exhaled in awe at the unexpected creatures below. The helicopter was flying very low, so Jodie could get a good look at a few herds of prehistoric creatures. There was a herd of Brachiosaurus grazing, just below the helicopter. As the engine and propeller noise got closer, one of them lifted up its head and almost came up level with the helicopter.

Jacob watched Jodie's reaction carefully.

"This is Brachiosaurus Cove. This is where all the plant eating dinosaurs are contained," he explained.

Jodie was clearly very interested.

"Are we on Jurassic Park?" She asked, never taking her eyes off the dinosaurs below.

"No. We're somewhere much better than Isla Nublar," he said. "Welcome to Isla Norte."

Jodie was starting to figure out what all of this might be about. It must have had something to do with Alan Grant, and her relation to him. Why else would she be looking at dinosaurs right now? She also knew that it probably wasn't about something very good. The way she was brought here was proof enough of that.

As she was still trying to grasp what she was seeing, something else caught her attention. Something in the water, just beyond Brachiosaurus Cove. She was sure that she saw something break the surface of the water, and then submerge again. Jacob noticed it, too.

"That's our most prized possession. Elasmosaurus," he said proudly.

Jodie didn't really know what that was. Jacob saw the blank look on her face, so he explained.

"You know. Loch Ness Monster . . . Nessie. It's quite an eater, too."

Jodie nodded and continued to look for it, but it didn't show itself again.

The helicopter gained a little altitude, and then accelerated toward the Southeast corner of the island. Jodie watched, as they flew over a very big bridge and over another smaller portion of the island. It looked like the dinosaurs were contained on the left portion of the island only. She also saw a large runway, just to the right of the helipad. It was located right on the eastern coastline.

The pilot made a completely smooth landing. The two men in front of Jodie opened the doors on both sides of the helicopter and quickly made their way out. Jacob motioned for the other man, sitting to Jodie's right, to get out. He did so, leaving Jacob and Jodie alone in the back area.

"Time to get out," he said.

Jodie nodded and began to get out. Jacob followed her. She turned to ask another question, but Jacob put a finger to his mouth.

"No more questions. Just follow them," he said, pointing ahead at the other men.

Jodie frowned and continued to follow the other men.

  
  
  


© 2002 by Yvonne Bartha


	10. Chapter 10: Mercenaries For Hire

___________Chapter 10: Mercenaries For Hire_

  


Alan and Ellie were standing in the office of the Henderson Executive Airport, waiting for Hammond to join them. Hammond had assured them that this smaller airport would be a much better place to get the mission underway. It was only about a 10 minute drive from the Vegas strip. Alan had been very quiet, since finding out about Jodie. Ellie was next to him, holding his hand. He found that to be very comforting.

Ian was sitting in one of the many chairs lined up in the office. He was very quiet, too. He couldn't believe it, but he actually felt bad for Alan. He understood, all to well, how it felt to have someone that you care about on an island infested with dinosaurs. His former girlfriend, Sarah, had volunteered to go there, of course, but it still brought up the same feelings.

Ian began to think about Sarah, and just how much he had messed up that relationship. If he had only decided to listen to, at least one thing Sarah would say, they might have had a chance. But Ian's top priority had always been himself. It was a very hard quirk to change. Sarah finally decided that changing Ian would be impossible, so she left him. That had been about four years ago. Ian hadn't had another serious relationship since then. And now, the beautiful Ellie was brought back into his life. He certainly thought that was a blessing, although it seemed to him that she and Grant were getting closer. He did have a certain amount of feelings for Ellie, but he knew it would never go further. It was just a matter of time, maybe only weeks, before Grant would win her back from her abusive husband. He was sure Grant had no clue, though. Grant didn't seem to be all that keen on relationships. Ian figured that Grant would be totally surprised when Ellie would want to rekindle whatever they had. He looked over at them and decided to take a little walk. He got up and walked up to them.

"I'm going to take a quick look around, maybe try to find a vending machine. I'll be right back."

Alan nodded.

Ellie took the opportunity to talk to Alan, while they were alone.

"Alan, you okay?"

"Yeah."

Ellie decided to change the subject.

"Do you know when our luggage was brought to us? I don't remember Hammond making arrangements."

"About 10 minutes ago. You were in the restroom."

"Who brought it?"

"Henry."

"By any chance, did Henry mention if Mark was still up there?"

Alan looked at her.

"He didn't say. You want me to go find Henry?"

"No, that's all right."

Alan took a good look at Ellie. Her face was slightly swollen, where Mark had obviously hit her that morning. Her lip was cracked open, too. He reached up and gently touched her face.

"I'm sorry I've been so hard to handle for the last hour. I was so caught up in my own life problems, I managed to put your problems in the back of my mind."

"I'm just hoping that Mark doesn't follow us here."

"Did you call your kids again?"

"Yes. I talked to them and to my mother. She's going to take them to Florida for a week. The kids are very excited about the vacation. I'm just glad they'll be away from Mark."

Alan smiled.

"What is it?" Ellie asked.

"You warned me about Mark, but I was still shocked about just how big he was. The guy is a mountain."

Ellie managed a smile, too.

"I told you."

"I'm pretty sure that he could kill me," Alan said.

"I know."

Alan laughed.

"Well, at least we're getting very far away from him, although I don't think man-eating dinosaurs are going to be much better."

"I agree," she said.

As Alan and Ellie were talking, Ian came back. He was looking past them.

"Well, it looks like the cavalry has arrived," Ian said, pointing.

Alan and Ellie turned. Henry was walking toward them. There were three very mean looking men walking behind him. When Henry and the three men reached them, Henry made the introductions.

"Doctors Grant, Malcolm, and Sattler . . . this is Craig Parker, Pete Johnson and Tilk."

They were all taken with the name Tilk. Of course, Ian had to say something.

"Tilk? Tilk? What is that? Is that short for something?"

Tilk was the biggest of the three men. He was 6'7" and 270 pounds. He stared at Ian, but didn't say a word. Craig spoke for him.

"Tilk is his name. End of story."

Ian backed off. Tilk may have been the biggest of the three, but the other two men were still taller than Ian.

"Oh, okay, then. My apologies there . . . Tilk."

Tilk took a few steps toward Ian, physically backing him up. Alan cut in.

"Okay, okay. We're all working together here, so let's not get carried away."

Tilk was right next to Alan now, as he had Ian backed up way past Alan and Ellie. Tilk slowly turned his gaze toward Alan. He stared at Alan. Again, he didn't speak. He just stared. Alan felt very intimidated. Twice, in the same day, he felt that his life was being threatened.

"That will be just about enough of that," Hammond said.

Alan and Tilk, along with everyone else, turned to see Hammond in an airport wheel chair. Henry had brought him in. Tilk turned back toward Alan and stared again. Then, he finally went over to Hammond. Alan started to breathe again. Ellie grabbed his hand.

Hammond smiled.

"Okay. I think everything is ready to go. There is a helicopter waiting for you on the tarmac. Private, of course. Private . . . and unknown," Hammond said. Then he added. "Spared no expense."

Alan nodded, and then shook his head. Hammond continued to talk.

"Oh, and these three men have enough fire power to go around. I made sure to pay for extra, for the three of you."

"Thanks," Ian said.

Alan shrugged. Guns were probably not going to be all that much help against the dinosaurs, but they would be useful against the humans. He watched the three mercenaries leave the office and go outside. Henry had helped Hammond get right up next to Alan.

"Alan, I'm not coming along. I would only hold things up, I'm afraid."

"That is completely understandable, John."

Hammond gripped Alan's arm.

"Please, bring them back. Bring them all back."

"I will, John. I will," Alan said.

Alan began to look through his bag, but then stopped when he thought of something to ask Hammond.

"Oh, and John?" He asked, and then he whispered. "I would love to know why on earth you would invite Ian Malcolm."

Hammond started to answer, but Alan stopped him short.

"You can tell me when we get back."

Hammond smiled.

"Very well, then. I wish all of you good luck and a speedy return."

Alan smiled. He quickly dug through his bag and found his lucky hat. He put it on and slung the bag over his shoulder. He picked up his suitcase and began to follow the mercenaries, from a distance.

When Ellie saw him put the hat on, she smiled at him. She knew how important little things like that were to Alan. She had her own little lucky blue pendant that she kept with her at all times. It was something Alan had given her quite a few years ago and she had just always kept it. She had it in her pocket right now. She grabbed her suitcase and followed Alan.

Ian was right behind them. He caught up to Alan and began to laugh. Alan looked at him.

"Nice hat," Ian said.

Alan smiled. He looked at Ian, who was wearing all black, right down to his sunglasses.

"That's a nice little gothic number you're wearing, as well. Do you own anything with color?"

Ian smiled at him. 

"Okay, boys, let's stop fighting. I don't want to have to ground both of you," Ellie said.

They continued to make their way to the helicopter.

  
  
  


© 2002 by Yvonne Bartha


	11. Chapter 11: Gaining Independence

_Chapter 11: Gaining Independence_

  


Tim and Lex were sound asleep in the mysterious building. They were awakened by the noise of the door unlocking. A man opened the door. As he did, the sunlight lit up the whole room. Tim got up. The man noticed.

"Good morning. Please, relax. Mr. Bodan will be with the two of you in a moment," the man said.

He went around the room and removed all of the barricades in the windows, exposing even the corners of the room with sunlight. He went back out the door and locked it again.

Lex got up, too.

"What do you think this place is?" She asked.

Tim was already looking around the room, trying to figure out the very same thing. There were several desks in the room, along with a lot of file cabinets.

"Looks like some sort of an office," he answered.

Lex walked up to one of the file cabinets and opened it up.

"Empty," she said. She tried a few more drawers. "All of these are empty."

"I guess it's an abandoned office," Tim suggested.

Lex shrugged him off and went toward one of the windows. She wanted to see if she could figure out where they were.

"Hey, Lex?" Tim asked.

She looked at him.

"Did you hear . . . growling . . . last night?" He asked.

"Yeah. It sounded like it was very close," she said.

"Yeah," Tim agreed.

Lex started to remember her time spent on Jurassic Park. She had put a lot of effort into forgetting about all of that.

"It almost sounded like---"

Lex's sentence was cut short by the sound of the door unlocking again. Another man was standing in the doorway this time. Tim and Lex both recognized the man right away. It was Patrick Bodan. He was accompanied by four other armed men.

"I hear you were visited by Mr. Envoy himself last night? That is a very big honor," he said.

Lex began to feel uncomfortable, with Bodan so close to her. She was still by the window. She casually moved back to where Tim was, in the center of the room.

Tim wanted to know what he had heard, when it had been dark outside.

"Mr. Bodan, may I ask a question?" He asked.

Bodan was very impressed with the boy's manners.

"Of course, Timothy," he said.

"What is on this island?"

"Dinosaurs," Bodan answered.

Tim wasn't expecting such a straight answer from him. He thought Bodan would answer the question using a bunch of riddles and confusing statements.

Lex began to look visibly shaken. She really didn't want her worst fears to become reality. She immediately started to relive every terrifying moment on that island, ten years ago. What seemed to happen, a lifetime ago, was suddenly back in her present mind.

Tim noticed how frightened Lex looked. It had been a long time, since he had seen her vulnerable side. She had grown up to be such a strong-willed, independent, and confident, young woman. The Lex he was seeing now, was the 12 year little girl that was stuck on that island, all those years ago. He was very worried about her.

Bodan spoke.

"Now that we have the details out of the way, let's get a move on, shall we?" He said.

He turned, and then looked at the four men behind him.

"Mr. Smith. Why don't you lead," he said.

Smith nodded and walked out of the building. One of the other men followed him.

Bodan looked at Lex and Tim.

"After you," he said, gesturing toward the doorway.

Tim began to follow the two men, but noticed that Lex was just standing there. He gently grabbed her arm and led her to the door.

Bodan smiled and followed them. Everyone made it outside. Tim took the chance to talk to Lex.

"You okay?" He asked.

Lex seemed to be a little better, now that they were outside in the fresh air.

"Yeah," she answered.

Bodan interrupted.

"Let's move a little faster. We want to get to our destination as soon as possible," he said.

"Mr. Bodan, where are we going?" Tim asked.

"To your new home away from home," he said. He looked at Smith. "Walk down that path on the right."

Smith noticed that they were walking past the jeeps and going in the direction of one of the many dirt paths.

"Sir, we're not taking the jeeps?" He asked.

Bodan stopped and looked at him. When he stopped, everyone stopped.

"No, we're not. We cannot bring motorized vehicles into the paddock we need to go through. The . . . attraction . . . doesn't care for motorized vehicles," he answered.

Smith nodded and began to walk again. Bodan had hoped to instill fear into Tim and Lex. There was nothing stopping them from taking the jeeps. He had lied. He just thought he might be able to scare them more if they were all walking. He studied Lex's reaction carefully. He smiled, as he could see she was terrified.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


Tim, Lex, Bodan, Smith, and the three other men had been walking for about an hour. They had gone over a bridge and were now in a very jungle-like area. Tim remembered thinking that they went from civilization, on one side of the bridge, to prehistoric times, after crossing it. There was a Maintenance Building, located in the opposite direction from where they were walking, making it the only real proof that they were still in civilization. The tops of the tress were so high and thick, that it was very difficult for him to see the sky. The trees made the ground area seem rather dark and menacing. Tim could make out the top of a large building, that was in the direction they were heading.

Lex hadn't said a word, since they began walking. She was trying to stop herself from being terrified. She tried to think about happier things, to get her mind off of where she was. But no matter what she did, her mind would drift right back to being chased by Raptors and being face to face with Tyrannosaurs Rex. She could almost feel the breath of the carnivorous creature on her face.

After she was almost ready to cry, she started to think about Alan Grant. She thought about him holding her, when the T-Rex was about to eat them. She thought about how safe she had felt, sleeping in a tree with him and her brother, on Jurassic Park. She thought about when she ran to him when the Raptors were chasing her and Tim out of the kitchen. He had managed to get a rifle by that time, making her feel much better. She thought about the helicopter ride that they all took to get off the island. She had asked to sit next to Alan and she had fallen asleep, leaning on his shoulder. Thinking of him was helping to ease her anxiety. That was the only thing that did.

Smith was far ahead of the rest of them. Bodan had insisted that he went ahead to make sure it was safe. As he was walking, he stumbled onto something in need of immediate attention. There were several pairs of tiny footprints in the dirt.

"Mr. Bodan?" He yelled.

Bodan was walking behind Tim and Lex.

"What is it?" He shouted back.

"I think you should have a look at this, sir," Smith yelled. "Those Compy things must have gotten out of the lab again."

Bodan stopped. Everyone else did, too. Bodan looked around. There was one other armed man just ahead of Tim and Lex, and then the other two men were bringing up the rear. He looked at the man in front.

"Stay here," he said.

"Yes, sir."

Bodan walked past everyone and disappeared down the dirt trail. The other three men were all looking in that direction.

Tim took the chance to talk to his sister. As he took a step forward, one of the men noticed and pointed his gun at him. Tim raised his hands.

"Look. I just want to check on my sister. She's not doing too well," he said.

The man nodded. Tim walked up to her.

"How are you doing?" He asked.

"I'm all right, Tim," she said.

"That's a relief. I thought you were going to fall apart on me," he said.

"No. I'm feeling better now," she said.

She looked over at the other men. They were all looking the other way again.

"We have to get away from them," she whispered.

"I know. There was a small building about 10 minutes back," Tim suggested.

Lex noticed one of the men looking at them again. She began to cry and grab Tim, faking brilliantly.

"No! No! I don't want to be here anymore. I'm so scared, Tim!" She blurted out.

The man looked away, not thinking the crying girl could be a threat. When he did, Lex became serious again.

"Yeah, I saw that building, too," she whispered.

"You think we could get to it?" He asked.

"If we can cause some sort of diversion, I think we could make a run for it," she said.

Tim thought about it for a second.

"Okay. I've got an idea. I'll pretend to see something on the right, and then you fall down on the left and start freaking out. I'll try to wrestle one of the guns from the guy closest to me."

Lex frowned.

"It's not much of a plan," she whispered.

"I know," Tim said.

He noticed Bodan was coming back down the trail, toward them. Smith was right behind him.

"That's all we have, though. So let's make it work," he whispered.

Lex nodded. Tim let his sister go, as Bodan reached them. Bodan noticed how unraveled Lex looked. He smiled.

"It was a false alarm, Alexis," he said. He looked back at Smith. "The next time you stop this convoy for something stupid, I will get very upset with you."

"I'm sorry, sir," Smith said. "But it does confirm that they were out on the path."

"Well, they're not there now, are they?"

"No, sir."

"Okay. Then, let's get moving," Bodan ordered. "Before they decide to visit again."

They all continued to walk down the dirt path. Bodan hated those little evil creatures. They had already eaten several infant dinosaurs in the lab, but Envoy insisted on having the Compys to show off in the park's Visitors Center. He shrugged it off, as he constantly kept an eye out for them.

After a few minutes of silent walking, Tim looked at Lex. She nodded. The plan was now underway.

"Oh my God! Oh my God!" He screamed. Bodan was walking in front of Tim and Lex . He turned around and looked at Tim. "I just saw something! Back there! Something is moving over there!" Tim yelled, pointing.

Tim was so convincing, that if Lex hadn't known he was lying, she would have believed him. Bodan held a hand up and everyone stopped again. He looked at one of the men in the back.

"Check it out," he said.

The man nodded and reluctantly went into the jungle, where Tim had pointed. Now it was Lex's turn. She moved to the opposite side of the path. She fell down to the ground and started screaming.

"Ahhhhhh. Something just bit me!" She screamed.

Everyone, including Bodan, looked at her.

"What is it?" Bodan yelled.

"A weird looking, little dinosaur just attacked me," she yelled, holding her leg and crying.

She managed to get all of their attention. Even the man that just went into the jungle. They were all looking around, making sure that there were no Compys near them. Bodan walked up to her.

"Get up," he said.

"I can't," she said.

As she laid there, talking to Bodan, she felt around the ground and grabbed a rock. It was very sharp on one end. She placed it in her hand just so. Bodan bent down and began to grab her arm. When he did, she quickly sprang up and used the sharp rock to cut into the right side of his face, from his eye, to just past his cheek. She pressed down as hard as she could, making him yell out in pain and fall to the ground.

Tim seized the opportunity. As one of the men was looking in Bodan's direction, Tim tackled him from the side. They went quite a distance. As the men fell, he went headfirst into a tree, and knocked himself out. Tim scrambled on the ground, searching for the gun that was thrown onto the jungle floor.

Lex saw Smith coming toward her, his gun drawn. She bent down, snatched up some dirt, and threw it at his face. He fired his gun, just missing her. She screamed and dove to the ground, her hands covering her head.

The other two men were going toward Tim, guns out. As they drew closer, Tim found the gun. He stood up, with the gun pointed at them. There was a standoff.

Lex was still on the ground. Smith was trying to get the dirt out of his eyes. He wasn't watching her anymore. As she went to get up, she was startled by a man's hand. It was Bodan. There was blood streaming all down his face and he looked very angry. He grabbed her arm and jerked her back to the ground.

Tim saw Bodan grab Lex. He jumped over a fallen tree and came toward Bodan. He still had the gun pointed at the other two men, so they were backing up, leaving a safe distance. Either of the two men could have already shot Tim, but they knew Envoy didn't want Hammond's grandchildren killed.

"Let her go, Mr. Bodan," Tim said.

"I don't think so," Bodan said.

Tim thought about what to do. He pointed his gun at Bodan.

"Let her go, or I'll have to shoot you," he said.

Bodan thought about for a second. He knew that the rest of the men could easily take the kid on, but only after the kid would shoot him. He decided to save himself, instead of the mission. He released Lex. She quickly stood up.

"Okay, you win . . . for now, Timothy," he said, holding a hand up to his bleeding face.

Tim nodded and looked back at the other two men. He still held his gun on Bodan.

"Throw your guns out in the jungle, as far as you can," he said.

They looked at Bodan for direction. He smiled.

"Go ahead, do as he says," Bodan said.

The two men threw their guns into the jungle. Tim looked at Smith. He noticed that he was still having a hard time seeing. His eyes were really red from the dirt Lex had thrown at him.

"You, too, Mr. Smith. Throw your gun into the jungle," he said.

Smith did what he was told. Tim looked back at Bodan.

"Now, give your gun to my sister," he said.

Bodan smiled, took his gun from the holster, and handed it to Lex. Things might have gone differently if he had taken his gun out earlier, but he hadn't thought about it. As Lex bent down to take the gun from him, Bodan stared directly at her, making her a little nervous.

"I'll be getting that back later, my dear. And you will be very sorry," he whispered to her.

She pretended not to be affected by his words. She turned away from him and walked over to Tim. Now they both had a weapon.

"Let's get out of here," she whispered to her brother.

Tim nodded. They both turned and began running back where they had come from.

As the kids disappeared down the path, the men began to search for their guns in the jungle. Smith came up to Bodan.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

Bodan grabbed a Zippo lighter from his pocket. He looked at his reflection in it, and frowned.

"That little witch has probably scarred me for life," he said, as he examined his cut.

Bodan took off his long sleeved shirt and ripped off one of the sleeves. He pressed it against his face and winced. With every passing second, he became more and more furious.

"Find your guns. Make sure they are set on STUN. We have some hunting to do," he said.

Smith helped him up.

"Maybe you should get that cut looked at first," he suggested.

Bodan thought about it. Bleeding to death in the jungle wouldn't help find Tim and Lex any sooner.

"Perhaps you're right, Mr. Smith."

"Let's get to a building. Preferably, one away from this area."

"Okay. I need to find my gun," Smith said.

Bodan nodded and waited for Smith. With every passing second, his anger grew. He stood there holding his bloody face.


	12. Chapter 12: Beware Of Thunder

_Chapter 12: Beware Of Thunder_

  


Jodie was sitting in a jeep. Jacob had told her to get in it, and then he had left in another jeep. Jodie was left alone with the other men. She overheard them talking about some incident that happened a little while ago. She thought she had heard that someone had gotten away.

Three men got into the jeep with her, along with the driver. They drove north, and then stopped, as they approached an electric fence. While they were stopped, Jodie saw a sign that said SOUTH BRIDGE. The driver exited the jeep and swiftly walked to the keypad, next to the gate that was there. The gate opened and the man got back into the jeep and went through it. As they continued on, they passed several buildings. All of the buildings had signs. There was a Lodge, a Restaurant, and a Visitors Center. The jeep quickly passed all of these buildings up and went over a hill. As they were driving down the other side of the hill, there was another electric fence there. The driver, once again, exited the jeep and did the same thing. The gate opened and the jeep went through. The gate automatically closed after they had gone through it, and now Jodie could see a cluster of smaller buildings. There was a sign nearby that said BIOSYN OFFICES-ISLA NORTE. There were about 8 buildings, each with a number: OFFICE 1, OFFICE 2, etc. To the left of the cluster of small buildings was a bigger building that said MAIN CONTROL ROOM. All the signs were made out of wood. Jodie thought they looked very expensive.

The jeep stopped next to the Main Control Room. Jodie noticed a sign here that said NORTH BRIDGE, with an arrow pointing toward a bridge. She turned the other way, as she heard the control room door open. A man stepped out, moving quite fast. He had a bandage on the right side of his face. He didn't look very happy. He walked up to the jeep.

"Welcome, Ms. Grant," he said.

Jodie nodded. The man smiled. He stared at the man in the passenger seat, until the man got out. There was another jeep parked there already and the man got into the driver's seat of that jeep. He was the only one in the second jeep, at this point.

"My name is Patrick Bodan and I'll be accompanying you to your safe destination, here on the island."

She nodded again. The man was creepy. Jodie didn't like him from the moment he spoke to her.

Bodan got into the passenger seat of the jeep and gestured for the driver to go. The jeep was in motion again, driving back to the south, the way it had just come. The other jeep followed. They went through one of the electric gates again, and Jodie was able to see all of the same buildings. She tried to memorize where they all were, in case that information came in handy later. The jeep made a right turn, near the Restaurant. After opening yet another security gate, the jeep went through a long tunnel. Bodan turned and looked at her. He started to talk again.

"I would like to advise you on the rules," he said.

"Okay," she said.

"First. No trying to escape. I had a little trouble with that very rule about an hour ago," he said, touching his face. "And I assure you, the escapees will be dealt with violently."

Jodie just stared. She was scared again.

"Second. Do everything that I say. You will be rewarded if you cooperate fully. You will be allowed to live."

The jeep drove on. The driver glanced over at Bodan.

"Mr. Bodan, did you get that cut cleaned up, sir? It still looks pretty bad."

"Yes. I did. All the first aid kits on this island are supplied with sutures and everything that goes along with them."

"That was good thinking, sir," the driver said.

"Yes, except for no one thought of putting something in there to numb the wound with," Bodan said, holding his face. "When I find the incompetent one, he will be fired immediately."

The driver didn't comment. He just kept quiet and continued through the tunnel. The jeep finally came out of the long tunnel, and turned left, and then took a quick right. It stopped in front of a building. Jodie didn't see a sign this time. The building looked new. It didn't even have the front windows installed yet. Jodie didn't know it, but this was the building that was modified to hold Tim and Lex. They were to be held in the rear of this building, in a separate and reinforced room.

The driver beeped the horn a few times, and two more men came out. They had guns and rifles, that they passed out to Bodan and the two other men in the backseat. They quickly made their way to the other jeep and got in. There were five people, including Jodie, in the first jeep . . . and three men in the second.

The jeeps were on the move again. They turned left and proceeded down the dirt road. That's when Jodie saw the fences. There were fences in every direction. They were very tall and made of very thick steel. Jodie also noticed that they all looked like electric fences. She closed her eyes, trying to picture the island in her head, from when she was in the air. She was fairly sure that she knew where she was. Brachiosaurus Cove must have been very close to where they were right now.

They were moving very fast. Jodie heard a beeping noise from the front seat. She watched Bodan hold up a walkie talkie, and speak into it. They were going along so fast, and hitting so many bumps, that it was hard for Jodie to hear everything that he was saying.

"Bodan here," he said.

"Sir, the Baryonyx was accidently let out," the other voice said. Jodie couldn't quite hear what the man said.

"What?" Bodan yelled.

"There was a mis-communication problem with one of the new men, sir. He opened the wrong gate."

"Well, get it back into its paddock. RIGHT NOW!" Bodan yelled.

He motioned for the driver to stop. Both jeeps came to a halt. Bodan got out of the jeep and continued to yell at the voice on the other end of the walkie talkie. All the while, he was looking around cautiously.

"What is its location?" He asked.

"It was just seen on the Section 3 monitor. It ran right past it."

Jodie was getting a little uneasy. Whatever had escaped, was really causing Bodan to panic.

"Section 3? Near the mall?" Bodan asked.

"Yes, sir."

Bodan looked at the driver.

"Where are we?" He asked.

"Section 5," the driver answered.

"Oh, that's not good," Bodan commented. He got back in the passenger seat. "Turn around. We need to get back to the safe half on the island, back over the bridge."

"Which bridge, sir? North or South?"

"Who cares! Just drive. Go the quickest way. Go. Now!" Bodan said.

The jeeps quickly turned around and accelerated, with Bodan's jeep in the lead. It was too late, though. The Baryonyx had already tracked the sounds of the motors and was coming toward them. Bodan could hear the giant steps of the creature, as it advanced. There was no sign of it yet, but the proximity of the footsteps told the men it was closer than they had wished.

Jodie was looking behind her, like everyone else. She was terrified of what might belong to those thundering footsteps. It wasn't long before the Baryonyx burst through some trees and showed itself. Jodie, as well as a few of the other men, screamed.

Bodan glanced back. The Baryonyx wasn't directly behind them, as he expected. It had surprise attacked them from the side, darting out in between the two jeeps.

"GO FASTER!" Bodan yelled, as the Baryonyx let out a long and terrifying roar.

The driver stepped on the gas. Jodie watched as the enormous creature went after the second jeep. The second jeep, skidded and slid, as the Baryonyx stepped in front of it, cutting it off. The three men in the jeep began to shout for help. The Baryonyx began roaring at all of the noise. Bodan's driver spoke up.

"Sir, should we try and help?" He asked, slowing down.

"Hell No. Keep going! Now!" Bodan yelled. "Get us to the damn bridge!"

The driver hesitated for a few seconds, clearly wanting to try to help, but then he accelerated once again. As Bodan's jeep raced away, everyone in it was watching the horrific scene unfold behind them.

The Baryonyx reached its very long snout into the open jeep and came up with its first snack. Bodan couldn't tell who it was, only that the man was screaming in pain. It had its razor sharp teeth locked down on the man's upper body, with the man's head inside the massive crocodile-like jaws. As it had its first victim secured, it slammed one of its massive feet down onto the jeep, stopping the rest of them from driving away. It easily crushed the hood of the jeep, as it turned its attention back to the food in its mouth. The Baryonyx leaned its head back and crunched down on the man, silencing his cries for help. It easily swallowed the man, whole. It bent back down, hunting for more of the tasty morsels.

Everyone in Bodan's jeep was still watching. Including the driver, through the rear-view mirror. With his attention drawn away from the road, the jeep drove slightly off the road. The driver attempted to correct it, but ended up overcorrecting. In a panic, the driver tried to regain control of the jeep, but it ended up sliding off the road, to the right. It did a few spins, before it would eventually come to a stop.

Bodan tried to hold on, but couldn't quite manage. He was thrown from the jeep. He tumbled and tumbled, until a nearby tree stopped his momentum.

Jodie looked around. The driver had managed to knock himself out. The two men who were on both sides of Jodie, quickly scattered in two different directions. One of the men crawled into the front seat and tried to push the driver out of the way. The other man jumped out to check on Bodan. In all the confusion, Jodie had been left alone. She jumped out and started to run for the jungle.

The Baryonyx was still attacking the other jeep. It was able to use its long claw to grab onto another unfortunate man. The man was unwillingly pulled from the backseat floor, where he was attempting to hide. The third man, still in the jeep, began to shoot at the 2- ton beast. The bullets were no match for the thick hide of the Baryonyx. It didn't even feel it, as it crunched down on its second snack. Blood splattered this time, coming down on the man with the gun. He panicked and jumped out of the jeep. He crawled under it, trying to hide. Unfortunately for the man, the Baryonyx had been watching. It bent down and tried to get at the third man, but it couldn't quite reach him.

Bodan had been dazed by the collision with the tree. As he tried to get up, one of the men was there to help him.

"Where's the girl?" He asked.

The man had forgotten all about her. He quickly looked toward the jeep. Jodie wasn't there.

"I . . . I don't know."

"You incompetent!" Bodan yelled.

He got up and pushed the man out of his way. He scanned the area for the girl, and spotted her. She was almost to the tree line.

"There she is!" He yelled, pointing. "Shoot at her!"

The man hesitated for a second. He didn't want to shoot a little girl. But when he looked at Bodan shooting at her already, he knew that if he didn't shoot at her, Bodan would, more than likely, kill him. He reluctantly began to fire at Jodie.

Jodie heard and felt the bullets whizzing by her head. She was crying pretty hard, as she finally made it to the jungle. She ran between the trees and bushes, where she was able to hide herself.

Bodan was about to go after her, when he heard the very distinctive sound of metal grinding against metal. He looked in the direction of the second jeep. It didn't even resemble a jeep any longer. The Baryonyx had totally smashed it into the ground, mangling it. It tipped it over and exposed the third man, who had still managed to stay safely hidden under the rubble. It snatched up its third snack. When it was finished, it looked in Bodan's direction. It let out a roar and came rumbling toward him.

Bodan ran for the jeep, along with the other man next to him. The man who was trying to get the driver out of the way, managed to get that done. The jeep was still running. Bodan and the other man reached the jeep, just as the ground began to shake. The Baryonyx was coming after them at its top speed. Lucky for them, that its top speed wasn't anywhere near the jeep's top speed.

Jodie watched from the safety of the jungle, as the jeep disappeared down the road. The Baryonyx gave up the chase very quick, as the jeep put more and more distance between them. It sniffed at the air and looked around. Jodie froze in terror, as it suddenly seemed like it was looking directly at her. It turned away though, and began to walk back the way it had come from. Jodie began to relax a little, as the thundering footsteps were shaking the ground less and less, telling her that it was going in the opposite direction.

Bodan began shouting orders into the walkie talkie.

"Jacob! Get someone out in Sections 5, 6, 7 and possibly 8. Right now! The Baryonyx just had three of my men for lunch. Get that damn thing tranquilized."

Jacob answered right back.

"Okay. There's a helicopter team on its way."

"Good," Bodan said.

He turned the walkie talkie off and hit the dash of the jeep, as hard as he could.

"Damn it! In the last 5 hours, I somehow managed to lose all three of those damn kids!" He looked at the driver. "Get us back to the Main Control Room."

"Yes, sir," the driver said.


	13. Chapter 13: Final Rest Stop

_Chapter 13: Final Rest Stop_

  


_Southern Tip of the Baja Peninsula - Dusk_

  


Alan woke up as the helicopter was landing. Ellie was sitting right next to him. She was still asleep, leaning on him. When the helicopter touched ground, he watched the three mercenaries quickly exit. He woke Ellie up, by gently moving his shoulder back and forth. She opened her eyes and slowly stretched her arms. After a small yawn, she looked around.

"Where are we?"

"I don't know yet," he said.

Alan looked over at Ian. He was the only one on the other side, now that Craig, Pete and Tilk had all left. He was directly across from Alan, leaning up against the side of the helicopter. He had his legs crossed.

Alan took the liberty of waking him up. Using his leg, he kicked at Ian's leg, instantly waking him up. Ian, startled awake, jumped up. Alan smiled.

"Get up. We're here," he said.

"Alan," Ellie scolded him.

"What?" Alan asked.

"You know what," she said. "Quit acting childish. My 5 year old son acts more mature than you do."

"Okay. Fine," Alan said, getting up. "I'll see you outside."

He exited the helicopter, leaving Ellie alone with Ian. She looked at Ian. He looked like he was still half asleep.

"Sorry about all that," she said.

"Oh, that's okay. I shouldn't bother him as much as I do. I just can't help myself," Ian said, smiling.

He opened the door for her and they got out of the helicopter. As they came out, Ian noticed Alan talking to a stranger on the tarmac, very close to the airport office.

Ellie walked past Ian and saw that Craig, Pete and Tilk were already moving supplies from the helicopter to a boat. She walked in that direction. Ian followed her. She reached the dock and got a good look at the boat. It was some sort of tug boat, about 50 feet long. Not all that big really. She waited by the dock, for one of the men to come out. Tilk was the first one to appear.

"Excuse me?" She said.

Tilk stopped what he was doing and looked up at her. He didn't say anything. He just went back to work.

"Hello?" Ellie yelled.

She was getting very annoyed with all of these uptight men she was stuck with. She was about to yell at Tilk again, when Ian tapped her on the shoulder.

"Maybe we shouldn't bother him," he suggested.

"I want to know what's going on," she said. She looked back at Tilk. "Where are we and why are we going by boat now?" She yelled.

Tilk continued to ignore her, but Pete was topside now. He answered her question.

"We are on the Southern tip of the Baja Peninsula. We are going to take a very quiet boat ride the rest of the way. So that we aren't seen."

"Well, thank you," she looked at Ian. "Finally, one of those neanderthals can speak."

Ian smiled. He casually looked back at the boat and found Tilk staring at him. Just staring.

"Uh, Ellie . . . let's go see what Alan is up to?" He said, pointing toward Alan. He looked back at Tilk, who was still staring. "That guy could easily kill us, you know."

"Just a second," she said. She looked back at the boat. "When are we leaving?" She asked.

Pete wasn't up there anymore. He had gone back into the cabin of the boat. Tilk was the only one up there.

"Oh, hell," she said, under her breath.

She turned and went toward Alan. Ian followed, as he nervously glanced back at Tilk once more. As Ellie was almost to Alan, she could see him nodding his head at the man he was talking to. He shook hands with him and turned toward Ellie and Ian. Ellie hoped he got some answers out of the man.

"We're leaving in about 30 minutes," Alan said, as he pointed toward the boat. "In that boat, previously owned by the Coast Guard."

"How long is the boat ride?" She asked.

"About three hours," he answered.

"Three hours? It'll be pitch black when we get there. Won't that be a little dangerous?" Ian interrupted.

"What? Would you rather go in the broad daylight and announce on a loudspeaker that we have arrived?" Alan snapped back.

Ellie didn't really want to listen to another argument between Alan and Ian. She grabbed Alan's hand, before Ian could counter.

"Let's go eat over at the airport restaurant," she said, not giving him a choice. She looked at Ian. "We'll meet you over by the boat in 25 minutes, okay?"

Ian shrugged.

"Yeah, okay, then."

Ellie and Alan walked across the tarmac and headed toward the small restaurant. Neither of them spoke. When they got to the door, Alan opened it for her.

"I really hate that guy," he said.

"I know you do, Alan. But he's here to help. Honest."

"Whatever."

Ellie smiled. They found a place to sit down. She ordered some food for both of them.

"Let's just forget about him, and eat in peace. Just the two of us, okay?" She asked.

Alan finally smiled.

"All right," he said. He chuckled. "You have always been my voice of reason, you know that?"

"It's a wonder you haven't fallen apart in the last 7 years, then," she said, smiling.

Alan gave her one of his looks.

Ian had made his way to some vending machines. He searched for them for about 10 minutes, before he happened upon one. He bought a cup of coffee, some chips, and a few candy bars. He sat down to drink his coffee and to think about what he was getting himself into. He thought about going back to the states and letting Alan and Ellie handle things on their own. He couldn't do that, though. He needed to get there and help shut that park down, before more innocent people were killed. He had other personal reasons, too. He hoped to find the proper moment to let Alan and Ellie know. He looked at his watch. There was only about 5 minutes left before they were to leave.

Ian got up and walked toward the boat. He noticed that his bag was there, sitting on the dock. Alan and Ellie's things were there, too. He grabbed his bag and walked across the small wooden bridge that lead to the boat. To his dismay, Tilk appeared on the other side. Ian tried to be friendly.

"Hey, there. I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot. You think we could start over, since we are on the same team and all?" Ian asked.

Tilk walked up to him. Ian had to look up at the man, at quite a distance. He was very nervous, as Tilk continued to stare at him. Finally, and for the first time, Tilk spoke.

"Look. You stay away from me. I'll stay away from you. That way I don't have to snap your neck."

Ian nodded repeatedly.

"Uh, that sounds like a good plan. Sure."

Tilk nodded and pushed his way past Ian. Ian moved and watched the huge man walk toward the helicopter. He looked past Tilk, and saw Alan and Ellie walking toward him. He watched them grab their things and come across the wooden bridge.

Ellie smiled.

"Problems with Tilk?" She asked.

"No. I think we have an understanding now," Ian said.

The three of them boarded the boat.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


Tilk was navigating the boat, while everyone else went below, in the cabin. While in the cabin, Craig filled everyone in on all the specifics.

"We're going to approach from the South. There is a small bay located in between the two portions of the island."

Alan was confused by that last statement.

"There are two portions?" He asked.

Craig nodded. He turned around and stretched his arm across the small desk and grabbed some papers. He handed them out to everyone.

"This is a rough photograph of the island."

"How did you get this?" Ellie asked.

"Aerial photography."

Alan examined the map carefully. The island was, indeed, divided into two portions. The larger portion, the portion on the left, was where all the attractions seemed to be located. There was an enormous amount of trees on this portion, blocking the view of what was actually there. The smaller portion, the portion on the right, was a lot less populated with plant life.

"What's on this smaller portion?" Alan asked.

"Offices belonging to the Biosyn Corporation."

Alan looked at Ian and Ellie. They were all beginning to have the same idea.

"John tricked us," Ian said, echoing everyone's thoughts.

"What do you mean?" Craig asked.

"At first, John told us we were going to a totally separate island. With the promise of no dinosaurs. We were supposed to get some information from the computers," Alan explained.

"But it looks as though only one small part of the island is actually dinosaur-free," Ian added, and then he laughed. "That old fossil is very sneaky."

Craig laughed, too.

"Yeah, I'd say you've been tricked."

"Well, it doesn't matter now. That plan was scrapped for this new and improved one," Alan said.

"To continue on . . . we are going to enter from the South. We'll pass by the South Bridge, right here," Craig said, pointing at the map. "And then dock the boat, here," he pointed to a spot on the map that was in the southeast corner of the left portion.

"Then what?" Ian asked.

"That's where Pete comes in," Craig said. "Pete?"

Pete had been sitting quietly, listening to the plan.

"Next, we will take over this maintenance building," Pete said, pointing to a building very close to where the boat would be docked. "When we have all of our gear stowed in there, then we'll head for this building," he pointed to a larger building on the map. "The use for this building is still unknown. It is three times, maybe four times, the size of the smaller maintenance buildings that are scattered throughout the park."

"We have reason to believe that Hammond's grandchildren are being held there," Craig added.

"How do you know that?" Ellie asked.

"And do you know where Jodie is located?" Alan asked.

Craig held a hand up.

"One question at a time. First, we have intelligence that this unfinished building has been modified in the last few days. Our guess is it's been modified to stash away the Murphy siblings. And to answer the second question, we have no idea. Ms. Grant's whereabouts are still unknown."

Alan was understandably disappointed with the last part. He sat back, examining the map a little closer.

"So, is everything on the island operational?" He asked.

"Most everything, yes," Craig answered. "Electricity, water, and the like. It's all functioning."

"What isn't working, then?" Ian asked.

Craig looked at Pete, for the answer.

"There was a small section added recently, on the northwestern side. It houses a smaller lab, a helipad, and a maintenance building. There is no power supplied to that area, as of yet. It's still being constructed. There is a temporary tunnel that connects it to the rest of the left portion, but there's not even a bridge yet," Pete explained.

Ellie was looking at the map.

"Where is the main lab. Do you know?" She asked.

"Yes. Here," Pete said, pointing to a fairly large building on the east coast of the dinosaur portion. It has three separate sections, all of which are massive. It also has two levels," Pete answered.

"Hopefully, we won't be needing to go there," Craig added. "According to intelligence, there are a lot of strange experiments locked up in there."

Alan immediately thought of the strange looking creatures on Isla Sorna, Site B. It had really disturbed him, how InGen had been "growing" dinosaurs in that lab. He had planned on examining the lab further, but he hadn't had a whole lot of time to do that. The Raptors had infested the lab there, and had a different plan in mind.

"So, do you know what kind of people we are dealing with?" Ellie asked.

Craig nodded.

"Yes. There is a handful of people who are always there. The programmers, the service personnel, the construction staff, and a few others."

Pete interrupted.

"And then there's the heavy muscle employed by Envoy."

Craig nodded, and explained further.

"Patrick Bodan. He runs the show. He's our first target."

"Patrick Bodan?" Alan asked.

"Yes. He is Envoy's bodyguard, and the one left in charge of island operations. He's not a very reputable man. He's wanted in several countries for various criminal activities. Murder, robbery, fraud, and, now . . . kidnaping," Craig answered.

"Sounds like a delightful man," Ian commented, as he smirked.

Craig continued.

"And then there's Jacob Darnby. He's second in charge. He's a much more reasonable man. He has committed several crimes, too, but has never been caught . . . yet."

"He's target number 2. After Bodan and Jacob are incapacitated, we'll then work on the programmers," Pete added.

"There's two of them on the island. They are always there. Daniel Nupin and Ethan Davis," Craig said.

Ian seemed to be very interested in the computer talk.

"Where are they located?" He asked.

"Right portion. In the main control room. To the north," Pete answered.

"How much longer until we dock?" Ellie asked.

Pete looked at his watch.

"About 20 minutes."

Ellie nodded. Ian stood up and looked at both Craig and Pete.

"So . . . who are these people you call . . . intelligence?" Ian asked.

Craig smiled.

"That's classified."

Ian smiled back.

"Oh, I see. Of course it is."


	14. Chapter 14: Taming The Beast

_Chapter 14: Taming The Beast_

  


Tim finally stopped running. Lex was right next to him. Both of them were breathing heavily. Lex looked back.

"No sign of them," she gasped.

"Why did you have to slice him up so bad, Lex?" Tim asked.

She looked Tim in the eye. When it came to Patrick Bodan, Lex wasn't exactly level headed. She felt a lot of hatred toward him. She looked down.

"He had it coming."

"Yeah, well maybe that's true. But now Bodan is going to do everything he can to get even with you," Tim pointed out.

"You think that I don't know that?" Lex snapped. "It was the heat of the moment. I didn't really mean to do that. I just wanted to get away."

"Well, we can't do anything about it now," Tim said. "Let's try and find somewhere to hide."

Lex nodded and the two of them continued on.

As they ran down the dirt maintenance road, Tim noticed cameras, positioned every 50 feet or so. As they would pass them, Tim and Lex would throw rocks at them. They managed to disable about 5 cameras, before stopping to rest again. When they resumed walking, the sound of an approaching helicopter could be heard.

"Maybe it's a rescue," Tim guessed.

"I don't know," Lex said.

It was starting to get dark now, making it easier to see the helicopter. Its lights were illuminating the area. Tim and Lex watched, as the helicopter seemed to concentrate on one certain spot, near the west side of the island.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


The helicopter pilot was finally able to find the rampaging Baryonyx. He held the helicopter steady, as they hovered over the large beast, with a massive spotlight pointed directly at it. Jacob patiently waited for a perfect shot. The Baryonyx was running down the path, toward the West Coast of the island. As it reached the end of the path, it stopped. Jacob smiled, as he finally lined up the perfect shot. He fired.

The Baryonyx roared, as it felt the rather large dart pierce its hind leg. It became even more enraged. It began to pace in a circular motion, roaring and stomping.

Jacob pressed a button on his headset.

"Bodan. I've hit it once. It's still moving. You want me to hit it again?"

"Yes. Hit it again," Bodan answered, from the Main Control Room.

Jacob aimed and, once again, fired at the outraged dinosaur. The dart hit the Baryonyx in the shoulder area. The dinosaur began to move sluggishly, as the tranquilizers slowly started to flow through its bloodstream. It continued to walk, but it was swaying around, as it did so.

Jacob was satisfied. He relaxed the rifle in his lap.

"Bodan. It's starting to go down. Two darts seemed to do the trick."

"Good. Good. Let me know when it's down and out."

Jacob went back to watching the Baryonyx. The smile on his face, suddenly faded.

"Oh, shit," he whispered to himself.

The Baryonyx wasn't walking anymore. It was about to fall over, which was good. The bad thing was that it fell on a nearby building. Not just any building. One of the Computer Control Room buildings. The only computer building on the dinosaur portion of the island. It managed, in just a few seconds, to take out about half of the building.

"Bodan?" Jacob said into the headset.

"What the hell happened? We have alarms going off all over the damn place!" Bodan yelled.

"The Baryonyx just fell into Control Room #3."

"How's your fuel?" Bodan asked.

Jacob looked into cockpit.

"It's sufficient."

"Good. Stay airborne. I'll get back to you."

"Okay."

Bodan turned toward his left. One of the computer programmers was sitting there, typing extremely fast . . . and swearing. Alarms were sounding all around Bodan. He looked at one of the computer screens. There were several blinking read lines scattered throughout the map on the dinosaur side of the island.

"Daniel, what the hell is going on?" He yelled.

Daniel Nupin took a break from all the typing. He leaned back in his chair and gave Bodan a look of fear.

"Mr. Bodan. The Baryonyx caused a power failure in the entire Southern sector of the dinosaur portion."

Bodan quickly made a mental list of the dinosaurs contained on the Southern sector. Elasmosaurus, Suchomimus, a bunch of herbivores, and Albertosaurus. He knew the herbivores would be the less threatening, of course. And the Suchomimus was very docile. Something had gone wrong in its production, as it never even moved away from the river, that went through the middle of its paddock. That left the Elasmosaurus and the Albertosaurus.

"Is the underwater barrier out, too?" Bodan asked.

Daniel went back to typing.

"Yes, sir. It's out, too. I'm working on restoring it now. The Computer Control Room over on that side only had remote servers in it. This Control Room, and the one to the south of us, are functioning properly. I should be able to reroute some power to, at least, the underwater barriers."

"How long?"

"About 15 minutes."

Bodan went back to talking to Jacob.

"Jacob, head toward the Albertosaurus paddock. See if you can get that thing tranquilized, before it figures out how to escape."

"Okay."

Bodan looked back at Daniel.

"How long for the fences?"

Daniel shrugged.

"Maybe 30 minutes. I don't know how bad the damage is yet."

"And we need to get the cameras operational again," Bodan added.

"I'll work on that after the fences, sir," Daniel answered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


As Tim and Lex were walking, Tim noticed another small building, a short way up the path. They had already passed one maintenance building and passed over a river by crossing a small wooden bridge. They were discussing what they should do next, when the small amount of lights that were present, went out. They both stopped, as they were submerged in blackness.

"What the?" Tim asked.

"Maybe we should get inside a building," she looked all around her. "This doesn't seem very good."

"Good idea."

They started to run toward the small building ahead of them. After crossing another small wooden bridge to pass another river, they made it to the maintenance building. Tim tried to the door. It was locked, so he began to throw his body weight into the door. It finally opened. They went into the building and Tim shut the door back.

"Now what?" Tim asked.

"Now we try to get some sleep and get moving again in the early morning hours," Lex said.

Tim's eyes were adjusted to the dark now. He looked around the room, for something to sleep on. He found a few blankets and some rain slickers. He spread them out on the floor and sat down. Lex sat next to him.

"Lex, do you think Grandpa is looking for us yet?"

Lex thought about it for a few seconds, before answering.

"I think that he must be. I hope so, anyway."

"I was supposed to meet with a professor at school tomorrow. About my scholarship and a possible summer position at the museum."

"I don't think you're going to make that meeting, Tim," Lex said. She laughed.

"Yeah, me neither," he said, smiling.

Lex stretched her arms out and yawned.

"I'm going to sleep. What about you?"

"Yeah, in a minute," Tim said.

Lex turned and laid down on her side and closed her eyes. Tim laid down, too. He was very quiet, as he listened to the majestic sounds of the herbivore dinosaurs nearby.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


Bodan looked nervously on, as Daniel continued to type frantically.

"Well?" He finally asked.

Daniel typed a few more things, and then he looked at Bodan, and smiled.

"Got the underwater barriers back online," he said.

Bodan sighed with relief.

"Fine job, Daniel. Fine job, indeed," he said.

Daniel Nupin was the first man that Marcus Envoy had come to, when he was looking for someone to write all the needed programs for his dream park. He was 25 years old now and had blossomed into a brilliant programmer. He had been employed by Biosyn years ago, to decipher all of Dennis Nedry's programming codes. Envoy really didn't care for Biosyn employees, but he had taken a liking to Daniel right away. Unlike most of the Biosyn employees, Daniel was beyond reproach. He had ethics. He was very loyal to his employer. Of course, both his employer, and Marcus Envoy, paid him very handsomely, so the idea of shopping around to get more money from competitors was not necessary. Daniel was in fine physical shape, also. He was a very healthy young man, as well as being a very wealthy young man.

Bodan was about to ask Daniel about the fences, when he noticed the young programmer staring at one of the many monitors, with a disturbed look on his face.

"Oh, God. Now what?" Bodan asked.

"The Elasmosaurus Paddock."

"What? Spit it out already, Daniel."

"Two of them are missing. They're not showing up on the scan."

Bodan slammed his fist down, on a nearby desk.

"That's not good, Daniel."

"I know, sir. Do you want me to try and track them?"

Bodan rolled his eyes.

"No. Why don't we let them roam free in the Pacific Ocean?" Bodan began to yell. "YES, DANIEL. TRACK THEM!"

Daniel began to type frantically, once again. Bodan turned the walkie talkie back on.

"Jacob? We have a situation with the Elasmosaurus Paddock. Can you get over there and search the surrounding ocean for two escaped Plesiosaurs?"

"I need to land first. Fuel is very low."

"Well, land at the new helipad to the North. That's the closest one to the Elasmosaurus Paddock."

"That's affirmative. I'll get over there, ASAP," Jacob said, as the helicopter maneuvered toward the helipad.


	15. Chapter 15: Attack Of The Loch Ness Mon...

_Chapter 15: Attack Of The Loch Ness Monster_

  


The boat slowed down, as it approached the island. Everyone was topside, waiting for Tilk to dock at the planned location. They passed the South Bridge and continued on. As they grew closer, sounds of faint alarms could be heard. There was a helicopter flying around in the distance, as well. The helicopter lights went off suddenly and it landed somewhere to the north.

"You think they know we're here?" Ian asked Craig.

"No. The sirens are coming from inside the island. If they had seen us, the sirens would have been much louder. I think they're having trouble on that island," he answered.

Ellie heard some kind of strange splashing noise. She looked to the left, and then behind the boat. She heard the splashing again. She glanced at Alan, and made her way to the back of the boat. Alan followed her. As they reached the back, he came up next to her.

"What is it?" He asked.

Ellie was looking out to sea. She couldn't see anything and the splashing noise was gone, too.

"I don't really know," she said. "I thought I heard something . . . out there." She gestured toward the open ocean.

Alan was about to say something, when another splashing noise was heard, followed by a hissing sound.

"See. There it is again!" Ellie said.

Pete appeared next to them. Alan looked at him.

"Did you hear that?" Alan asked.

"Yes, I did," Pete said.

Ellie shivered.

"Something is out there and it's very close," she whispered.

As she finished her sentence, the back of the boat was rammed by something very large. It hit the boat with such force, that Alan, Ellie and Pete were thrown to the deck. Water rushed onto the deck, as the three of them fell.

Before Ian or Craig could respond, the front of the boat, where they still were, was rammed. Craig was standing very close to the edge. The unexpected jarring caused him to fall over the side. He managed to grab onto the hand railing and scream for help. Ian quickly got to him and held onto Craig, as he saw Tilk coming from the pilot house. Tilk quickly ran to the railing and grabbed the collar on the back of Craig's shirt. He pulled hard, lifting him up and over the railing. As he was pulling him back, the unknown creature shot out of the water and snatched up Craig in its jaws. It easily pulled Craig from Tilk's grasp and pulled the unlucky man back over the railing.

It was too dark to see much of anything. Ian and Tilk peered into the blackness, trying to see what had happened to Craig.

"CRAIG?" Ian yelled.

"PARKER!" Tilk yelled.

There was total blackness, accompanied by total silence.

Alan had hit his head on something, in the fall. He shook his head, trying to clear it. He found Ellie, and helped her up. They ran toward the front of the boat, toward Ian and Tilk. Pete was right behind them. Alan reached Ian.

"What happened?"

"Something grabbed Craig. Dragged him under," Ian answered.

Ian was carefully leaning over the railing, searching for any signs of Craig. Alan cleared his throat, to get his attention.

"Leaning might not be the best idea."

Ian looked at him. As he did, the creature emerged, once again. Its head appeared right in front of Ian. Ellie was the first person to see the creature.

"Get out of the way!" She yelled.

Ian instantly dropped to the deck, followed closely by Alan doing the same. Pete ran to the cabin for a weapon. Tilk had grabbed one of the spotlights, and was pointing it in the direction of the commotion. The creature was finally revealed.

"It's some sort of Plesiosaur," Alan said, still kneeling down, hiding behind the railing.

The creature's extremely long neck danced up and down in the spotlight. There was blood present on its jaw. As the light shined in its eyes, it became very agitated and began to hiss. Its long neck stretched over the railing, allowing it to snap its jaws at the people on the boat.

Alan and Ian quickly crawled toward the safety of the cabin. Ellie was already just about there. She kept looking back to make sure Alan and Ian were coming.

Tilk was still holding the spotlight on the Elasmosaurus. It was making the creature angry, but it was also making the creature temporarily blind. Tilk started to back away, toward the cabin. As he did so, the Elasmosaurus reached past the spotlight and latched onto Tilk's arm, pulling him toward the dark ocean. Tilk yelled, as he dropped the spotlight on the deck.

Alan was crawling right behind Ian. Tilk was dragged right past them. Ian stopped, but Alan yelled to him.

"Go, go! I'll try to get him!"

Ian nodded and continued to crawl.

Alan turned around and grabbed Tilk's leg, in an attempt to pull him back the other way. Tilk grunted in agony, as the creature and Alan played tug of war with him. It didn't take Alan long to realize that it wasn't working. The Elasmosaurus was much stronger than he was. He let Tilk go and tried something different. He stood up and ran around Tilk, to get a good look at how it was holding the mercenary. It had a vice-like grip on Tilk's arm and its body was up, about half way on the boat, making the boat sway that way. Alan grabbed the spotlight, that was still on, and began to strike the eyes of the creature repeatedly. Tilk was almost to the railing now and was rapidly giving up hope.

The Elasmosaurus finally let out a cry, allowing Tilk to get free. He quickly hit the deck and began to crawl toward the cabin. Alan smiled, as he dropped to the deck, too. As he was crawling, he felt the creature grab his lower pant leg. The good news was that it didn't pierce his skin, but the bad news was that he was being rapidly pulled toward the railing.

Ellie was happy to see that Alan was able to save Tilk, but her happiness quickly faded. She ran from the cabin, as Alan was being helplessly pulled to his death. Pete was right behind her, with a rifle in hand. He raised the rifle, aimed, and fired . . . and hit the creature. The Elasmosaurus quickly retracted its neck and went back toward the safety of the water. Pete was able to hit it two more times, but it continued to flee. It also continued to take Alan with it. He kept kicking at it, with his free leg, but it wasn't helping. Ellie was just about to him, when she slipped in the water, that was all over the deck. She slid right past Alan. He was able to reach out and stop her from flying off the deck. They managed to share a quick glance, as the Elasmosaurus pulled Alan from the deck, and into the darkness below.

Ellie picked up another spotlight, that had been hanging near the railing, and watched, as Alan hit the ocean and disappeared under the dark water.

"ALAN!" She yelled, half crying.

Pete ran up, right beside her, ready to shoot at the creature. The water was perfectly still, though. There was nothing to shoot at. Ellie started to quietly sob, as she realized she had, most likely, looked at Alan for the last time. She seriously thought about jumping in after him. That thought quickly faded away, as she thought about her children.

Ian appeared on the other side of Ellie. He put a hand on her shoulder. They continued to watch the water, as if some miracle would happen and Alan would reappear.

Tilk had made his way to the pilot house. He started the boat and began to steer it in a circular direction, trying to find Alan . . . or Craig. Ellie was still pointing the spotlight at the water, and Pete was still aiming the rifle in that same direction. Ellie began to yell again.

"Alan? A L A N ?"

There was still no sign of him. The boat went in two wide circles, with no result. Ellie was not coping very well. Ian kept trying to calm her down, but she would just slap his hand away. She had been overwhelmed with sadness, at first, but now she was growing more and more angry. She stood in silence, getting ready to explode, at any second. Her thoughts were interrupted by some movement, close to the rear of the boat.

Ellie ran to the back of the boat. Ian and Pete followed her. She aimed the spotlight into the water, hoping to see the impossible. It wasn't what she had expected. The Elasmosaurus had floated to the top of the water. It appeared to be dead. Ellie's hope was renewed, as she desperately looked for Alan. They all looked for signs of Alan or Craig. Nothing. Ellie was about to give up hope, when she was sure that she heard Alan's voice. She looked at Ian.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"It was Alan. I heard him," she said.

Ian shook his head.

"I didn't hear anything," Ian said, trying to prepare her for the worst. "Ellie, Alan is probably gone. Your mind is just playing tricks on you."

Ellie waved him off, frowning at him.

"I heard him, Ian. I know I did."

"I'm sure you thought you did, but---"

Ian was cut off by a familiar voice, very near the island shore. He smiled, allowing his gaze to follow the voice. Ellie aimed the spotlight toward the voice. Alan Grant was on the shore of the island, yelling to them. He was on the dinosaur portion of the island. He was standing close to the maintenance building that they had planned to take over.

Ellie was so happy to hear and see him, that she nearly passed out. Ian held onto her, as the two of them waved the spotlight in the air, to let Alan know they had spotted him.

"Hey, stop waving that light around. Someone from the island might see that," Pete said.

"Oh, right. Sorry," Ian said, as he lowered the spotlight that Ellie was still holding.

Pete saw Alan.

"Tilk. Get us to the island. Grant is already over there," he yelled, pointing toward Alan.

Tilk nodded and the boat moved in that direction. As they got closer, Ellie heard that same splashing noise, that she had heard before.

"Oh, no," she whispered.

Ian had heard it, too. He and Ellie quickly went back to the back of the boat. She aimed the spotlight down. The dead carcass was still floating on top of the water. Ellie and Ian looked at each other in bewilderment. It didn't take long to figure out what was going on.

A much bigger Elasmosaurus shot out of the water, about half of its 40-foot body landing on the boat. The boat instantly tilted to the left, and began to tip over. Ian grabbed Ellie, and the two of them ran to the other side of the boat and jumped out to the ocean. They made for the shore on the smaller, computer portion of the island.

Pete had immediately begun firing at the enormous creature, but this bigger Elasmosaurus was too angry to be stopped. It had witnessed its offspring killed by the 50-foot boat and, now, it was seeking revenge on the strange looking object. It wasn't much interested in the people, only the boat, at this point.

Tilk had tried to turn the boat, as the creature attacked, but he was knocked off his feet and thrown to the floor. He hit his head on the small table bolted to the floor, and was knocked unconscious.

The boat hadn't been very far from the shore, so Ian and Ellie were almost there. Alan was watching, from the dinosaur portion. He was watching and hoping they would safely get to the shore. He was relieved, when he saw them get to the shore, unharmed.

Pete wasn't as lucky. The boat had flipped all the way over now, spilling him into the ocean. The Elasmosaurus had moved away from the boat, as it flipped, waiting to see if it had defeated it. Pete was under the water, looking around. The spotlight was free floating underwater and it was still on, making the area under the water look very menacing. He was holding his breath and fighting panic, as he searched for the underwater creature. He didn't see it, so he began to quickly kick to the surface. The last thing that Pete saw, as he glanced to his left, was the wide-open jaws of the Elasmosaurus coming at him. He screamed, but, for obvious reasons, no one could hear him. It crunched down around his mid-section. Suddenly, Pete couldn't scream anymore. He was out of breath and was, now, in two pieces. The sensation of having no legs, drifted away quickly, as the Elasmosaurus came in for the final kill.

Alan shouted to Ellie and Ian.

"Are you guys all right?"

"Yeah, we're good," Ian shouted, giving Alan the thumbs up sign.

Alan looked around, trying to figure out what to do. It was fairly obvious now, that all three of the mercenaries were probably dead. He looked past the shore and saw a dirt road. He was pretty sure of his whereabouts, but what about Ellie and Ian? He thought about swimming to them, but with the Elasmosaurus out there in the open ocean, that would be suicide.

"Let's try and meet at the lab!" He shouted. He tried to remember where the mercenaries had said the lab was located. "It's on the east coast, on my side!"

"Okay!" Ellie shouted. "The lab! We'll meet you there. At first light!"

Alan nodded and watched Ellie and Ian walk away from the shore. He stood there, by himself, for a few minutes, and then he walked toward the dirt road.


	16. Chapter 16: Dinosaur Information 101

_Chapter 16: Dinosaur Information 101_

  


Ellie and Ian made their way to some offices. Ian walked up to the closest office, office #10, and tried the door. It was unlocked. He looked at Ellie. She nodded. He pushed the door open and they went inside. Ian quietly closed the door, as Ellie began to wonder around the office. Ian found the light switch and turned it on. There wasn't much in there. There was one computer and a room full of file cabinets. While Ellie sat at the computer to see what she could find, Ian began to open the file cabinets. Most of them were empty, but he was able to find scattered papers in a few of them. He rummaged through them, looking to see if they were anything of importance.

Ellie turned on the computer. It beeped several times, and then a login screen appeared. Ellie was about to type something in, when she decided not to.

"Why aren't you typing? We might be able to find something out, about this place," Ian asked.

"If I try to log in, we'll probably be discovered," she said.

Ian smiled.

"Yeah, good point. You know, Ellie. You're not only beautiful, you're intelligent, too."

"Thank you," Ellie said, dismissing his complements.

"Those happen to be the exact two traits that I look for in a woman"

"That's nice, Ian," she said, shaking her head. "Just look through the rest of the cabinets, will ya?"

Ian laughed.

"Okay, okay. I'm not giving up that easily though. I just want to warn you."

Ellie didn't respond this time. She just laughed, as she went to the other side of the room to open the file cabinets over there. She found nothing of importance.

"Ian, let's try another office."

"Okay."

Ellie walked to the office door, opened it, and peered outside. There was no one there, so she stepped back outside and went to the next office, office #8. Ian followed her. She opened the door and went inside. Ian shut the door and smiled at her.

"Did I mention that I love a woman who takes charge?"

Ellie rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"You look over there," she said, pointing. "I'll look over here."

"Yes, boss," Ian said, smiling.

Ellie shrugged him off, and began to open file cabinets. To her delight, one of the cabinets was stocked full with folders. She took some of them out and began to read through them. Ian was still rambling on, as he looked through the cabinets on his side.

"You know, Ellie. What if Alan isn't the right guy for you? He's very boring, you know. Don't you want a man who is, uh, . . . unboring . . . and . . . taller. How about taller? That's a good trait to---"

"Look! I found something!" Ellie said, cutting him off.

Ian straightened up and walked to her side of the office.

"Oh, good, good. What did you find?"

"Lab notes about the dinosaurs," Ellie said, as she continued reading. "There are about 15 species on this island. Mostly carnivorous, from what I see here."

"I guess Envoy didn't want to disappoint the guests who wanted to see the big and bad dinos."

Ellie stared at him for a minute, and then she spoke.

"What did you say?"

"I said that I guess Envoy didn't want---"

"No, not that. Before that. What did you say about Alan?"

"Oh, that. Nothing," Ian said, smiling.

Ellie smiled back.

"Ian. I'm not with Alan. I'm getting a divorce. I'm going to be on my own . . . for a while."

"Hey! So there's a chance for me then?" Ian joked.

"Never mind," she said. "Just come here and read this."

Ian and Ellie sat on the floor, with a barrage of papers scattered all around. They read through most of the notes, and then Ian came upon a journal in one of the folders. He opened it, and they began to read journal entries.

  


_Baryonyx (BX). One produced. BX doesn't behave normally. Has some sort of brain malfunction. I told Mr. Envoy that it should be destroyed, but he insisted on keeping it, until another BX is produced._

  


_Megalodon (MEG). Two produced. Smaller of the two is somewhat baffled by the UnderWater Viewing Area in the Visitors Center. Once, it rammed into the reinforced glass, while a worker was painting the area. The worker quit the next day. Larger of the two keeps to itself mostly, although it is very protective of its smaller counterpart._

  


_Elasmosaurus (EL). Four produced. One birthed in captivity, 6 months ago. EL's are very aggressive, especially the first one produced. The first one is also the birth mother of the infant EL._

  


_Suchomimus (SU). One produced. Very docile. Too docile. Hoped this would be a vicious dinosaur. Produced instead of the Spinosaurus. Never leaves the safety of the river. Eats fish only. Will not eat provided food, such as goats and cows. I would like to destroy this dinosaur, and replace it with something different. Maybe Dilophosaurus (DL). Mr. Envoy said no, but I am still in the process of secretly producing DL's in the lab._

  


_Velociraptor (VEL). Twelve produced. Very intelligent, as foreseen. Not violent toward one another, like Hammond's VEL's. All twelve work very well together, during feedings. Electric fence needed to be extended over the top of the area, as the VEL's were working together, in an attempt to get up and over the fence. All day and night long, they attempt to break free of their paddock._

  


_Pterodactyl (PT). Four produced. PT's are the newest production. I'm not all that familiar with them, as they act very differently from Pteranodons (PN). They are lighter than the bigger PN's, and therefore, much faster. They don't seem to like many foods. Only food that has been blended into a very gross paste._

  


_Albertosaurus (AL). One produced. More to come. The AL is an exceptional dinosaur species. I have always wanted to observe this species, and now I have finally been granted the opportunity. Its visual acuity is much greater than that of the Tyrannosaurus Rex (TREX). It can actually track objects that are hardly moving. Once it snatched up an unfortunate worker that was planting trees in its paddock. The worker had believed the dinosaur had been tranquilized, but he was sorely misinformed. He had stood still, but the AL was still able to get him, because of the uncontrollable shaking the man was doing._

  


_Tyrannosaurus Rex (TREX). Three produced. This was the first species produced for Mr. Envoy's new island. It should prove to be the crowd favorite, as most people know what it looks and acts like. Nothing unusual to report at this time, about TREX. All three are fine, healthy specimens of the Tyrant Lizard._

  


Ellie shook her head.

"What in the hell were these people thinking? Why would anyone want to knowingly produce potentially dangerous creatures?"

"I don't know. That's why we're here. To stop them . . . and to rescue some innocent bystanders," Ian said, still holding the journal.

"Whose journal is that? Does it say?" Ellie asked.

Ian turned to the inside cover. He read the name to himself.

"I'll be damned," he said.

"What? Who is it?"

"Henry Wu."

Ellie knew the same sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.

"Who?"

"Dr. Henry Wu. Hammond's old chief geneticist. Remember him?" Ian did his best imitation of Dr. Wu. " . . . all the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park are female . . . blah, blah, blah . . . "

Ellie laughed.

"Oh, yes. I remember him," Ellie said, thinking about it. "Why do you think he would want to work here?"

"He probably jumped at the chance to observe all the new species of dinosaurs here. Probably got paid a whole lot, too," Ian said.

Ellie was reading another file, while Ian was talking. She became serious again.

"Well, I don't think he'll be spending any of that money."

"Why? What did you find?" Ian asked.

Ellie handed him the paper. It was a death notice. Ian read it out loud.

"Isla Norte Public Relations. Dr. Henry Wu passed away today. He was 41 years old. He had an unfortunate accident with one of the attractions in the lab."

"Why would they even put that on paper? Why would they want evidence of it happening?"

"It looks like this office was abandoned quite a while ago, Ellie. They probably don't even know this paper exists. Or any of these papers, for that matter."

"Well, we need to save these papers, and that journal. They all prove what's been happening here."

"Any ideas where?" Ian asked.

Ellie thought about it. She couldn't think of a good place, either.

"I don't know. Can't you think of something?" She challenged.

"Okay, okay. Give me the folders. I'll secure them in my inside jacket pocket."

Ellie put all the needed papers and the journal into one of the folders. She handed it to Ian. He folded it slightly and put it in his jacket. He looked around the room.

"I think we should wait out the rest of the night here."

Ellie looked at him for a second. She wasn't sure if he was being sincere, or just trying to hit on her again. She decided that it didn't matter. Staying where they were was the best idea, either way.

"Yeah, I agree," she said. She saw him smile and take a few steps toward her. "You sleep over there. I'll sleep over here."

Ian smiled. It was at that moment, when he knew Ellie would never be interested in him. It's not like he couldn't figure that one out right away. He had just never given it much thought. He wasn't Alan Grant, so he didn't have a chance. He decided to stop the advances toward her, since she genuinely seemed to be uncomfortable with his playful teasing.

"Uh, Ellie. Can we call a truce?"

Ellie looked relieved.

"That would be nice."

"Okay, then. A truce it is. Good night."

"Good night, Ian," Ellie said, smiling.

The two of them laid down, on opposite sides of the small office.


	17. Chapter 17: It's All Relative

_Chapter 17: It's All Relative_

  


Alan was carefully walking down the maintenance road. It was pitch black in the area he was in. As he was walking, he heard a helicopter, and then moments later, he could see the lights from it. It had just taken off from the northwest corner of the island, and was going directly south, away from him. He stood there for a minute, watching the helicopter's progress. That's when he first heard a strange noise, like deep breathing. He looked in the direction of the noise. He could see the electric fence, which was running alongside the maintenance road. The fence looked different from the fences on Jurassic Park. There were thick steel bars, going vertically, up to about 50 feet or so, Alan guessed. There was a bit of a gap between the vertical bars, telling Alan that whatever was on the other side of that fence, was pretty big, since they weren't worried about it getting through the bars. The sounds seemed to be coming from the other side of the electric fence.

Alan, against his every instinct, walked toward the electric fence. For some unexplained reason, he needed to know what the source of the noise was. After walking up a tiny embankment, he reached the fence and looked inside. There was nothing, but blackness and silence. He frowned, as he could have sworn that the sound was very close. He turned around and started to walk back toward the maintenance road.

With his back to the electric fence, he heard a different sound this time. A low growling sound. He quickly turned around. He still didn't see anything, but blackness. That's when he realized that the blackness he was seeing, was actually a part of a very large dinosaur. The dinosaur that had been tranquilized by Jacob earlier. It had been leaning up against the fence, unconsciousness, breathing deeply. It was very much awake now and looked cautiously around. Alan suddenly became panicked, when he realized that the dinosaur was, indeed, leaning up against the electric fence. The only thing standing between himself and that dinosaur, was a fence. A fence that was obviously NOT electrified, since the dinosaur was leaning on it.

He didn't move, as the dinosaur pushed itself away from the fence. He watched, as it walked a few steps away from him, sniffing the air. The helicopter was still flying around in the southwest corner of the island. The lights, from time to time, would shine toward where Alan was. As the lights came his way, he was able to see the dinosaur. It looked like it could be a T-Rex. It was a little smaller than what Alan had run into in the past, but it was definitely a very qualified carnivore. Alan watched it turn around, toward him. He stayed unmoving, as the dinosaur continued to sniff the air. Now that the dinosaur was looking directly at him, Alan was able to get a much better look at it. The helicopter lights illuminated it, once again. It had a distinctive shaped head. Alan recognized it as Albertosaurus.

As he identified the species in his mind, the Albertosaurus glared at him. He didn't think it was possible for it to see him, but while looking directly at him, it roared and charged at the fence. Alan swore to himself, as he turned and ran. He could hear the steel of the electric fence bend, and finally give away. A section of the fence fell to the ground with overwhelming power. Alan felt the ground under his feet shake, as the fence hit the ground. He glanced back once, and wished he hadn't, as the Albertosaurus was in hot pursuit.

Alan quickly ran toward the ocean, knowing it was an absolute dead end. He felt he had a better chance if he could get back to the paddock, where he could hopefully hide in the safety of the trees. He turned around. The dinosaur was right on top of him now, which was the only thing that worked to his advantage. Had he continued to run forward, the Albertosaurus would have certainly snatched him up. When he turned around, the dinosaur was in the process of lunging toward him, so he was able to barely get past the jaws and run the opposite way. He ran right in between the legs of the massive dinosaur, quickly turning to get out of the way of the muscular tail. The large beast was still tracking him very well, though. It had pivoted on its hind leg, and continued its pursuit. Alan did his best to maneuver between the trees and bushes, in an attempt to stay one step ahead of it. The cat and mouse chase went on for about 10 minutes. After running and ducking for quite a while, he noticed a building, just to the right of where he was. He took a hard right turn and headed in that direction. The Albertosaurus saw the tiny human switch directions and continued to pursue him.

Alan continued to run. He was getting tired and worn out, but he forced himself to keep moving toward the building. As he got closer, he grimly realized that the building was on the other side of the electric fence. He reached the fence, quickly turned sideways, and tried to squeeze through the thick metal bars. After a little discomfort and slight panic, because the Albertosaurus was just about to him, he finally managed to squeeze through and fall to the other side. The safe side. He slowly stood up, a little wobbly, and continued to run toward the building. From behind him, he heard that same frightening sound of the dinosaur breaking down the unelectrified fence. It continued to charge at him, roaring occasionally.

He finally made it to the door of the building. He took a fast glance around the outside of the building. It was very much under construction. There weren't even any windows in it yet. He wasn't even sure that going into the building would help, since it looked like the Albertosaurus could probably just destroy it in a few attacks. After looking back, and seeing the wide-open jaws of the Albertosaurus almost to him, Alan decided to take the chance. He opened the door, ran inside and slammed the door shut behind him. When the door shut, the inside of the room became pitch black. He couldn't even see his hand in front of his face. He just stood away from the door, trying to catch his breath.

The Albertosaurus ran, at full speed, right into the building. It easily took out the entire room Alan was standing in. He was thrown to the floor, as the dinosaur walked into what used to be a room with a door. Now that the room was gone, the moonlight helped to light up the area. Alan could see that there was another door still standing on the opposite end of the building. It was a very big door, and there was light coming out from under it. It looked like some sort of security door. Alan quickly began to crawl toward it. The Albertosaurus found the human once again and resumed its pursuit.

Alan managed to make it across the room. A part of the fallen wall was draped across the floor, held up by a few tables that were apparently in the room. Alan crawled under the fallen wall and continued to head toward the large door. The Albertosaurus lost track of the human, as Alan disappeared under some of the rubble. It stopped for a few seconds, looking for signs of him.

Alan made it all the way to the door. He was still on the ground, when he tried looking under the crack at the bottom of the door. The gap wasn't very big, but he could still see into the next room. All he could see, from his level, were desks, chairs and file cabinets. There was definitely light in this room. He slowly brought his hand up and tried pushing on the door, but it wasn't budging. As he was trying to think of what to do next, he thought he heard a noise coming from behind the large door. He immediately thought it was probably another dinosaur. He immediately started to have horrifying visions of being trapped between two dinosaurs. When the overwhelming feeling of giving up overcame him, he heard crying from the other side of the door. Suddenly, he had hope again.

"Hello?" He whispered under the door.

The crying stopped, but there was no other response.

"Someone there?" He whispered.

There was still no response. Alan glanced back to see where the Albertosaurus was. It was getting very close to him. It had carefully walked up to where the wall had fallen. It was moving things around with its snout, searching for him. He knocked harder.

"Hello? Please, if there's someone there . . . please let me in there," he pleaded.

Alan looked back under the door. He could see a shadow moving around now.

"Look. There's a very big dinosaur out here that is ready to have me for dinner. Please, open the door."

The Albertosaurus was able to pick the wall up with its snout, exposing Alan on the floor. It tossed the mangled wall aside and was finally able to see Alan again. It roared loudly and began to advance toward him.

"Oh, God," Alan whispered.

When the Albertosaurus was just about to him, Alan heard another noise from behind the large door. To his surprise, and delight, the person behind the door sounded like they were unlocking it. The door opened. Alan couldn't see who was on the other side. He crawled into the room, turned around, and slammed the door shut with his feet. He hurried back up and tried to figure out how to lock the door back, but it was very complicated. He could hear the giant footsteps of the Albertosaurus on the other side of the door. He frantically looked around the room for whoever opened the door, but they must have been hidden.

The Albertosaurus banged into the door, in an attempt to knock it down. The door was very durable though, as it stayed in place. Alan threw his weight into the door, hoping it would assist in holding the door closed. The Albertosaurus came in for another attack. This time, it managed to jolt the door open. Alan was thrown violently backwards. It felt like he was flying through the air slowly. Then, with a very sudden and painful landing, he struck the floor.

Alan looked at the door. It was spring loaded and had shut again when the Albertosaurus withdrew. He tried to get up so that he could try locking the door again, but found it very hard to do so. His entire body ached and his chest was heaving. He ignored the pain and started to get back up. He was struggling to get back to his feet, when he caught a glimpse of someone running past him. It was a little girl. She ran up to the door and started pushing and pulling the levers and switches on the door. In just a few short seconds, she had the door secured. The Albertosaurus was still ramming the door, but it was getting nowhere.

Alan decided to stay on the floor where it was much more comfortable. He was watching the little girl as she locked the door. When she turned around, he noticed she had a large gash on the side of her face.

"You okay?" He asked the girl.

She looked at him and was about to answer, when it was obvious that she recognized him.

"Dr. Alan Grant?"

"Yeah," Alan said, breathing heavily. He managed a slight laugh. "What's left of him, anyway."

The girl laughed. Alan smiled.

"So . . . you must be Jodie, is that right?"

Jodie seemed very surprised that Alan had recognized her.

"Uh, yes. Yes, I'm Jodie."

Alan was still smiling. He attempted to get up. When Jodie noticed he was having difficulty, she went over to him and helped.

"Thanks," Alan said. He was able to see her face injury up close now. "What happened?" He asked, pointing at the gash.

"A jeep accident."

Alan was about to ask more questions, but then he noticed Jodie was starting to tear up.

"Hey, it's going to be all right. I'm here to get you out. To rescue you."

Jodie had kept her emotions under control, up until this point. But now that an adult was in the picture, she began to think about the horrific events that had taken place the day before. She looked at Alan and suddenly felt the urge to hug him. She hesitated though. She felt a little awkward. She began to cry, as every emotion she had been hiding while on this island, started to emerge.

Alan pulled her to him and embraced her. She cried harder. Alan held onto Jodie very tight for several minutes, while Jodie worked on composing herself. Then, she suddenly remembered the dinosaur that was outside the door.

"What was out there?" She asked, not moving from his arms.

"It was an Albertosaurus."

Jodie looked up at him.

"What does that look like?"

"Kind of like a T-Rex, but smaller."

Jodie let go of Alan. She was starting to get herself back together now, as she wiped away her tears.

"How do you know that? I mean, couldn't it be a few different dinosaurs?"

"Yes, it could have. It's mostly an educated guess, really."

Jodie nodded. She was still very nervous about the whereabouts of the dinosaur.

"Is it gone?" She asked.

"I think so. It's not trying to get in here anymore, so that's a very good thing."

Jodie nodded again. Alan looked around the room, trying to figure out where they were. Jodie spoke up.

"Dr. Grant, are you here alone?"

"No. There's a few more of us. At the moment though, they've seemed to have lost me."

Jodie laughed a little bit.

"It's good to finally meet you," she said.

"Same here," Alan said, smiling.

"I've been hiding in here for quite a while," she said.

"Do you know what this place is?"

"Not really. I've just been hiding. Then, I heard the outside room fall down, and you knocking on the door. You scared me to death."

"Sorry about that. I would like to thank you for opening the door."

"You're welcome, Dr. Grant."

Alan smiled. He was still very much out of breath.

"You can call me Alan, if you want to."

"Okay."

Alan looked the rest of her over. She was wearing jeans and a ripped up, muddy, short-sleeved shirt. Alan guessed that it used to be red. She had several bruises on her arms and several rips in her clothes. She had long brown hair that was put up in a ponytail. Under all the mud, she was a very pretty girl. Alan was suddenly angry. Envoy shouldn't have taken innocent children for leverage.

"I am so sorry that you got involved in this mess," Alan said.

"I can't say I'm happy about it, but I've been holding my own."

"Did you see Tim and Lex?"

"Tim and Lex? The kids that were on that first island with you?"

"Yeah, that's them."

"They're here, too? Wow. No. I haven't talked to anyone, except for two guys named Jacob and Bodan. And a few other bad people."

"So Bodan and Jacob are both here? On the island?"

"They were. Some huge dinosaur attacked our jeep and I ran away from them."

"What did the dinosaur look like?"

"It was big. It sort of looked like one of those Spinosaurus things, but it didn't have a sail."

"That could only mean two possibilities. Suchomimus or Baryonyx. Why in the hell would Envoy develop such dangerous creatures?" Alan rambled out loud.

Jodie was about to say something, when the Albertosaurus began ramming the outside of the building. It had gone around the fairly large building and was trying its luck with the other side. The entire room shook. There was one single window in the room they were in. It was about the size of three standard windows and the Albertosaurus was looking through it.

Alan grabbed Jodie and the two of them quickly hid behind a desk that was close to them. In all the commotion, Alan was still able to notice Jodie wincing as he pushed her down behind the desk. He noticed a large rip on the back of her shirt. She adjusted herself so that she was fully leaning on him. That seemed to make her pain less severe. Alan rose up to peak over the desk. Jodie grabbed his shirt and pulled him back down.

"Please, don't do that," she whispered in a panicked voice.

Alan nodded and stayed down, behind the desk. The Albertosaurus continued to ram into the building, knocking out the glass from the window. The glass flew across the room, some of it falling on Alan and Jodie. Alan covered up Jodie, as shards of glass dropped on him. Jodie was holding onto him very tightly. He could feel her shaking. He just continued to hold her, as the room started to fall down around them.

"I think we have to get out of here," he whispered to Jodie.

"I'm scared. I don't want to go anywhere."

They were running out of time. The Albertosaurus was now working on the weak spot in the room, the broken window. It was sticking its snout through the empty window, shaking the entire outside wall. The wall began swaying back and forth.

"Okay, Jodie. We've got to go. Right now. Can you open that door again?"

Jodie was beyond frightened now. She barely even heard what Alan said.

"What?" She asked, her voice trembling.

"The door," Alan said, pointing toward it. "I need you to open it again, okay?"

Jodie nodded. Alan began to crawl toward the door, trying to stay hidden behind the desks. Jodie followed, but then stopped suddenly. There was a very different and very severe pain in her right thigh.

"Alan," she whispered.

He looked back at her. She was holding her leg and crying. He crawled back to her and took a closer look at her leg. There was a large piece of glass dug into her leg. It was buried deep inside, with just the wide tip sticking out. Jodie looked at it closer and, gripping the tip, yanked it out.

"No, wait," Alan said.

As Jodie pulled, blood sprayed everywhere. She yelled in a panic, as she saw the blood. She had the piece of glass in her hand. She had pulled it completely out. She threw it in anger.

Alan quickly put his bare hand on the wound, pressing as hard as he could. The blood was still flowing though. Jodie, naturally, began to panic even more.

"Oh, my God. Oh, my God," was all she could manage to say.

"It's okay, Jodie. Hold right here," Alan said, moving his hand, when Jodie put hers there. "We just have to find something to stop the bleeding. Here, use this for now."

Alan found some papers scattered on the floor. He gathered them up and handed them to her. He desperately looked around for something better. In the search he picked up the piece of glass that Jodie threw. It was bloody and almost as big as his own hand. Jodie's wound could prove to be very severe, if they didn't get the proper treatment. He needed to stop the bleeding right now. There was a closet near the window, just to the side of it. He crawled toward it.

When Jodie saw that Alan was crawling the opposite way from the door, and toward the creature, she became very concerned.

"What are you doing?" She whispered.

Alan didn't answer. He reached the closet and opened it. The snout of the Albertosaurus came back through the window at that moment. Alan was only a few feet away from it at this point, but he kept calm and continued to look through the closet. He found some blankets. He gathered them up, stood up, and tossed them toward Jodie.

Jodie caught some of them and dragged the rest close to herself. She was very worried about Alan. He was still standing right next to the wall and the dinosaur still had its snout in the window. Its eyes were shielded by the wall though, so it couldn't see into the room.

Suddenly, the Albertosaurus removed its snout and became very quiet. Alan was still standing by the window, so he couldn't see what was going on. He looked at Jodie, hoping she could see what it was doing. It didn't take long to figure out what it was doing.

"Watch out! Get down!" She yelled.

Alan dropped to the ground, just as the Albertosaurus rammed through the window again. This time, one side of the wall gave away and the outside wall began to sway again. Alan looked into the closet again, trying to find something to defend himself with, as the wall was just about ready to collapse. All he could find was a broom. He lifted the broom from the closet and crawled under the window. He could feel the breath of the dinosaur on him, as he adjusted the broom. He lifted the broom and jammed it into its snout, as hard and as far, as he could.

The Albertosaurus let out a painful roar and withdrew its head from the window. Alan and Jodie looked at each other. Both of them breathed a sigh of relief. Alan peaked out the window to see where the Albertosaurus went. Jodie tensed up, as he looked out the window a little bit longer than she was comfortable with.

"Alan. Where is it?"

"I don't know. I think it's gone."

Alan stood up and stuck his head out of the broken window and looked both ways. There were no signs of the Albertosaurus. He hoped it really was gone. He turned around and took a good look at the room they were in. The dinosaur managed to loosen one side on the outside wall, but the room was still in tact. The room withstood the attacks. Alan walked up to Jodie, who was still next to the desk they were hiding behind.

"How you doing?" He asked, as he knelt down next to her.

"I'm not sure."

Jodie still had the papers pressed up against her thigh. They were totally soaked in blood. Blood was also dripping from her thigh onto the floor. He gently removed the papers. Jodie winced.

"Sorry."

"My leg, below the knee, is numb. I can't feel it."

"We just need to get the bleeding stopped and you'll be fine."

"I hope you're right," Jodie said, tearing up again.

Alan picked up a blanket and tore the border off the top of it. While he was doing that, he kept an eye on the window to make sure there wasn't an unwelcome visitor. He worked on ripping more of the blanket up into small pieces. He took the small pieces that he made and put them on Jodie's wound, and then he grabbed the border piece he had ripped off first. He looked at Jodie.

"I'm going to need to lift your leg up, so that I can wrap this around it."

"Okay."

Alan nodded. He lifted her leg as gently as he could, but there was no way not to hurt her. She cried out in pain, as he put her leg back down. He tied the blanket border snugly above the gash. Jodie screamed again.

"Okay, done," he said.

"Thank God," she said, gasping.

Alan gave her one of his looks. She managed to smile.

"There. Now if you don't move too much, you should feel much better in the morning."

"What time is it?"

Alan looked at his watch. He was amazed that it still worked, after the little swim he had taken.

"It's about Midnight."

"Wow. I guess it is time to go to sleep. My curfew is usually 10:00pm at school. Are we going to sleep here?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"What if that thing comes back?"

"Well, I think that being inside a building would be better than being under a tree."

"Yeah, good point."

Alan looked down at her leg.

"Hey, look at that. The bleeding has just about stopped."

Jodie looked down. She looked at Alan and nervously smiled.

"Thanks."

Alan nodded. He got up and started to spread the other blankets around on the floor, behind another desk. When he had them the way he wanted them, he looked back at Jodie.

"Let's get you over here, on the blankets and away from all of this blood on the floor."

Jodie thought that was a good idea. She just didn't want to think about moving. Alan came over to her and knelt down again.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Yeah, as ready as I'll ever be."

"Okay, put your arms around my neck."

Jodie did what she was told. Alan gently picked her up. She cried a little bit, but mostly she just clenched her teeth. Picking up Jodie hurt Alan a little bit, too. His entire body was still aching from being tossed across the room. He carried her over to the blankets and gently put her down. He situated the ripped blankets over her wound, and then he walked over to the light switch. He turned the light off, making the room instantly black. He waited for his eyes to semi-adjust to the dark, and then he sat down beside Jodie. He reached over and grabbed the other blanket that was on the side and covered them both up with it. He laid down next to her. Jodie quickly moved and ended up laying on his shoulder. Alan looked back toward the broken window. The moonlight was shining through it, and to his relief, there were still no signs of the Albertosaurus.

"Good night, Alan."

"Good night, Jodie."

She smiled in the darkness. She was holding onto his arm, as she closed her eyes, hoping that the Albertosaurus didn't decide to make a return visit.


	18. Chapter 18: Distress Call

_Chapter 18: Distress Call_

  


Henry Wiggans walked into Hammond's office, holding a piece of paper. The office was newly decorated and was located on the first floor of the mansion. As he walked in, Hammond looked up from his desk.

"Hello, Henry."

"Sir, I have some news," Henry said.

Hammond looked at his watch. It was quite late.

"At 1:30 in the morning, you have news?" Hammond thought that Henry looked stressed. "Something bad?"

"Yes, and no, sir," Henry said, looking down at the paper in his hand. Hammond stared at his assistant, waiting for the bad news. Henry continued. "They made it to the island. But there was some sort of problem with the boat. We received a distress call in morse code, just a little bit ago."

"Oh, my," Hammond whispered.

"We weren't able to make out the entire message, but here is most of it."

Henry handed the piece of paper to Hammond. He read it to himself.

SOS.......911. SEND........RESCUE.......WEST DOCK. BOAT DOWN. SUPPLIES GONE. AT LEAST TWO DEAD.........GRANT......MISSION ABORTED...

"Any idea who sent this?"

"Most likely, one of the mercenaries, sir. No idea which one, though."

Hammond slowly stood up. He had been sitting in his office chair, for several hours, looking over papers. His body wasn't ready to stand up freely yet. He leaned on the desk, supporting his body with his hands.

"Okay, Henry. This is what we'll do. Get some of our people over to the Baja Peninsula. Have them assemble a rescue team and have them stand by for further instructions."

Henry had grabbed a notebook from the desk, and was rapidly writing everything down.

"Get it all, Henry?"

"Yes, sir. I believe so. I'll get working on this right away."

Henry left the office in a hurry, leaving Hammond alone with his thoughts. He hoped that Alan, Ellie and Ian were unharmed. He didn't want to find out that one of them, were among the "at least two dead". He sat back down, as his thoughts drifted to that island. What might have caused their boat to go down? What could have possibly been there, to stop them from docking on the island? Or maybe they did dock on the island, and were taken away by some of Envoy's men? No. If that were the case, there would be no time for a distress call. Unless, one of the mercenaries was able to secretly send it?

The questions were running through his mind so fast. Hammond finally had to shake his head, in an attempt to clear it, since there were no obvious answers appearing. Whatever might have happened to all of them, one thing was clear. If he didn't hear from someone soon, he would pay for another expedition over to Isla Norte. He had to get his grandchildren back safely. He just had to. They were his whole life now, really. They usually amounted to his only visitors. His daughter hadn't spoken to him in quite some time. They had said some very unpleasant things to each other in the past. She went as far, as to ask him not to attend Tim's graduation. He didn't want to be the cause of another family struggle, so he obliged his daughter, much to Tim's sadness.

Missing the graduation wasn't all the bad, anyway. It had worked better into Hammond's plans. After all, that cleared his schedule, so that he could go meet with Ian Malcolm and Alan Grant. He had made it his life's obsession, to stop anyone who might try to capitalize on his dinosaur research. He had gone through great lengths, to make sure that the technology developed on Jurassic Park be patented in his name. He still remembered the day when InGen tried suing him over the patents. They had lost. He had succeeded in tricking them all and had been selling bits and pieces of the technology, ever since. Not the technology to produce dinosaurs, but the breakthrough computer systems (the gene sequencer supercomputers), the development of hatching different animal species in ostrich eggs, and the selling of the unique ways of incubation to interested companies. John Hammond was more wealthy now, than he had been when he created Jurassic Park.

No matter how much money he had, no matter how many people he had working for him, and no matter how many companies depended on his patents, Hammond couldn't stand to think about losing any of his family members. He would do anything in his power to bring Tim and Lex home.


	19. Chapter 19: Knowing Jodie

_Chapter 19: Knowing Jodie_

  


As the sun rose and lit up the room, Alan woke up. He had been up quite a few times in the night, checking both on Jodie and on the window. He looked at his watch. It had stopped on 3:00am. He shook it a few times, but the second hand didn't move. It must have finally succumbed to being waterlogged. His clothes were still slightly damp, too.

He looked over at Jodie. She was still sound asleep next to him. He smiled, as he remembered his cousin Richard calling him at about 3:00am, over a decade ago. Ellie had answered the phone, and Richard had just started yelling "It's a girl. It's a girl!" Ellie had congratulated him and then had handed the phone to Alan. He had congratulated him and they had talked for a few minutes. Then, the doctor had wanted Richard for something, so he had told Alan good-bye, hanging up the phone. Alan had talked to Richard a few times after that, but he had mostly lost track of him. Alan and Richard were very close as kids in Australia. Then, when Richard was about 14 years old, his family had moved to the United States. To Illinois. That's where Richard had stayed all these years.

Jodie yawned loudly and stretched her arms out. Alan watched her, as she began to remember where she was. Her happy and content demeanor went away and the frightened child came back.

"Good morning," Alan said.

"Good morning," Jodie said, trying to smile at him.

She moved her leg around a little and winced.

"How's your leg?"

"It feels better, but it still hurts."

Alan wanted to give her some time before he tried to talk her into walking. He just started making small talk.

"So, you know a little bit about dinosaurs, huh?" Alan asked.

"Yeah. Ever since I knew that I was related to a famous palaeontologist, I've studied about them. Mostly just the dinosaurs that were on those dinosaur islands. I've read your two books and I also read Eric Kirby's book."

Alan nodded.

"You ever read Eric Kirby's book?" Jodie asked.

"No, I haven't had the time. I do own it, though."

"He really says some very nice things about you. He was really happy to see you, on the island. He was all alone before finding you. When he realized who you were, he had a lot of faith that he would get off that island alive."

"Eric is a good kid. And a smart kid. And it seems to me that you're pretty smart yourself."

Jodie smiled.

"I have to tell you, I felt just like Eric did when I recognized you. Plus there's that added feature of meeting someone related to me."

Alan started to fell awkward at all the praise and attention. Mostly, he felt guilty.

"I'm sorry I never made it to any of the family functions. I haven't really been out of Montana that much in the last 12 years," Alan said.

"I understand. At least we've talked on the phone a few times."

"Yeah, we do have that, don't we?" Alan said, smiling.

"Yep."

There was an uncomfortable silence between them. Jodie looked to the floor. Alan decided on talking about something impersonal.

"So, how many men did Bodan have with him? Any idea?" He asked.

Jodie looked up, clearly relieved that he had started the conversation again, so she didn't have to.

"About five or six. I saw that many, but he was always talking to a another person on the walkie talkie."

Alan nodded.

"Did they have guns?"

"Yes. All of them had guns. A few had guns and rifles."

"Well, that's great."

"Guns and rifles didn't help against that big thing that attacked the jeep. What did you call it again?"

"Suchomimus or Baryonyx. Possibly one of those. Hopefully, we won't run into it, so I won't have to identify it."

Jodie began to think about what had happened.

"A few of the men were killed. I'm still not sure how I got away from there without being eaten or shot."

"Well, I'm glad you got away," Alan said, smiling. "Besides, if you hadn't, I would have been eaten, myself."

Jodie returned the smile. Alan seized the opportunity.

"You think you can get up?"

Jodie's smile faded.

"I . . . I think so. I don't really have a clue. Do we have to go right this minute?"

"No. I just wanted to warm you up to the idea of moving on."

"Oh. Okay. Well, I think I need just a few more minutes."

Alan smiled.

"Okay," he said quietly.

"Maybe a few more hours," Jodie added.

Alan laughed. So did Jodie.

"Look at us," Alan said. "We're in the middle of one of the most dangerous places in the world, and we're sitting here, laughing."

"It must be the company, because I haven't really laughed since I got here."

Alan smiled again. He got up and walked over to the window. He slowly peaked out of it, looking for signs of the missing Albertosaurus.

"Anything?" Jodie asked, hoping that the answer was no.

"Nope. Nothing."

Jodie sighed with relief.

"So, Alan. How many people are with you?"

Alan thought about it for a second, as he mentally counted the people.

"There were six of us."

"Were?"

"Our boat was attacked by some sort of Plesiosaur. Half of us were killed. The mercenaries. That leaves just us three scientists." Alan said, thinking about the irony of that.

"Who? Anyone I would know?" Jodie asked.

"Well, there's Ellie."

"Ellie?" Jodie asked excitedly.

"Yeah. And then there's Ian Malcolm."

"Really?" Jodie asked curiously.

Alan laughed and nodded.

"Then there were the three mercenary-type men that I didn't really know all that well. Craig, Pete, and . . . and . . . " Alan couldn't remember the third guy's name. "Oh, and . . .Tilk."

"What?" Jodie asked with a puzzled look on her face. "Tilk?"

Alan laughed.

"That's exactly what I said when I was introduced to him. To myself, though. The man was huge and I didn't think making fun of his name was a good idea."

Alan took a moment to think about how amusing it was when Ian did just that.

"Probably not. Still, you have to wonder about it," Jodie said.

"I don't know, it was some sort of codename. Strange."

He was still standing by the window. He didn't really think it was in good taste, to keep talking about the deceased. He was about to change the subject, when Jodie beat him to it.

"I thought you didn't like Ian Malcolm. That's what my dad said," she said.

"Well . . . I don't," Alan said, smiling, "but Mr. Hammond invited him along. Do you know who John Hammond is?"

"Yeah, he's the Grandfather of Tim and Lex, right?"

"Right. You really did read my books, didn't you? I am truly impressed."

"Thanks," Jody said proudly.

Alan suddenly started thinking about Ellie. He hoped that she was okay. He didn't want to really admit it, but he was happy that Ian was with her. For protection. As he was thinking about Ellie, he started to talk about her out loud.

"Ellie is married now," he rambled.

"Married? Really?"

"Yeah, to a guy named Mark."

"Wow. I always thought that you and her would . . . you know . . . stay together."

"Yeah, well, I messed that up."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Jodie said.

"Well, enough about me," Alan said, coming back over toward Jodie. "What about you? How's your dad?"

"How would I know. I never see him." Jodie said, shrugging her shoulders.

Alan stopped next to her. He had struck an emotional chord with Jodie. He sat down next to her.

"Why not?"

"He's always busy visiting different places. He has me in a private all-girls school now. I have to stay at the school. In a dorm. I hate it."

"Does he know you hate it?"

"I don't know. I don't talk to him much either."

"Jodie, if you're unhappy, you should tell him. I'm sure he would listen."

"I doubt it. We haven't been very close for a few years now. It's no big deal."

"Well, when we get out of here . . . I think you should tell him how unhappy you are. I'll come with you."

"Really? You would do that?"

"Sure," Alan said, not fully comprehending what he just got himself into.

"Okay. Then, that's a deal."

Jodie held out her hand. Alan smiled and shook it.

"Okay, deal," he said. "And now, if we want to get off this island, we have to start moving."

Jodie shrugged.

"Oh, all right. I'll try."

"Good. I'll help you."

"I hope so," Jodie commented. "I don't think I could get up on my own."

Alan got up and held out a helping hand. Jodie looked at him, took a deep breath, and then took it. Alan pulled her up gently, helping her as much as he could. He was able to get Jodie to her feet without much of a problem. She leaned on him, as she spoke.

"Well, that part was easy. Walking shouldn't be too much worse, huh?" She joked.

Alan smiled.

"That's what I'm hoping. Let's give it a try."

"Well, you're the grown-up."

Jodie turned her body in the direction she was going to walk. Alan still had his arm around her waist and a firm grip on her arm. She took a step. It didn't hurt that bad, so she took another one.

"Hey, this isn't that bad. It doesn't hurt as much as I thought it would."

"Well, that's good to hear," Alan said. "You think you could walk through all the debris in the next room?"

"Maybe."

"Okay, let's get to the door."

Jodie walked toward the door. She walked slowly, as Alan assisted her. She still couldn't believe how easy it was. They got to the door and Jodie pushed, and pulled, the switches and levers again. The door made a clicking noise.

"Okay, it's unlocked," Jodie whispered.

Alan briefly stared at the door. He looked at Jodie, briefly wondering how she learned to do that, and then he became serious. He turned the handle of the door. It opened. He took a deep breath, and then he slowly pulled the door back. Jodie had a tight grip on his arm, as he opened the door all the way. He looked around. There were no signs of movement. He turned his attention back to Jodie.

"You ready?" He asked.

She nodded. He helped her walk around the debris from the destroyed room. They got to where the door used to be and walked out of the building. They walked in a westerly direction for about 15 minutes, before Jodie needed to rest. Alan helped her get situated on a rock. Then, he looked around, trying to get his bearings. It was already very hot. Sweat was beading on his forehead, as he placed his hands on his hips.

"Do you know where we are?" Jodie asked.

Alan thought about that for quite a long time before he answered.

"I briefly saw a sketch of the island map. If I had to guess, I'd say we're very close to about the center of the bigger portion of the island."

"I saw the island from the air," Jodie said.

"You did?"

"Yeah. I was brought here by helicopter."

"How far do you think the smaller portion is from here?"

Alan knew that he had to get to the lab. And the lab was just across the smaller portion.

"Kind of far. The island is pretty big."

Alan looked all around him slowly. He was almost positive that he had somehow gotten turned around and that the lab was the other way.

"I think we need to go back the other way. I need to get to the lab. It's located on the east coast of this portion."

Jodie frowned.

"So we walked this far for nothing?"

"Sorry. I'm just a little turned around," Alan said.

"So, what's on the smaller portion? Do you know?"

"Yeah. The right portion is strictly park control. Offices and things. No dinosaurs of any kind. The left portion is where all the danger is."

Jodie shivered. She was already scared before that information.

"Well, if we're in the center . . . what kind of dinosaurs are in the center?"

Alan tried to remember the map he had only briefly seen.

"I'm thinking it was something not dangerous. An herbivore or some sort."

"I remember seeing Brachiosaurs near the bottom center, as we flew by."

"I think that's where we are," Alan said.

"Well, that's a relief," Jodie said, breathing a little easier.

Alan smiled at her. He was really hoping that he had remembered correctly. He was fairly sure that he had. There were so many potential mistakes to make, at this point. He hoped he hadn't made one now, as it could prove to be a deadly miscalculation.

"Well, are you about ready to go on?" He asked.

"Yeah, I guess so."

Alan helped Jodie to her feet, and then checked the bandage. It was holding up pretty well. They started to walk again, continuing to go West. Along the way, a few strange noises were heard, but nothing was seen. Alan kept looking all around them to make sure they weren't in danger. Even if this was herbivore territory, they could still be trampled. As they were walking, Alan made small talk, to try and calm Jodie's obvious anxiety. And his own.

"So, why don't you like your father?"

Jodie smiled at him.

"I see what you're doing, Alan. I'll play along," she said, as she continued. "It's not like I don't like my father. It's just that he has no time for me. He seems to always put everyone else before me, even his employees."

"He is a very busy man, that I do know. He has a very stressful job."

"I don't care. I really don't. All I want is a father. A father that I could tell how my day went. A father that would tuck me in before bedtime. A father that would, at the very least, care about the words that come out of my mouth."

"Jodie, I didn't realize it was so bad between the two of you."

"If you asked him, he wouldn't have a clue either. Ever since Mom passed away, he just keeps to himself a lot."

Alan remembered hearing about Richard's wife passing away about five years ago. He had missed the funeral because of some unforseen problem at the dig site. He couldn't even recall what that problem had been, which made him feel even worse about not attending.

"I'm really sorry about your Mom," he said. "But it's not really fair to think he doesn't care. Have you ever complained about how he treats you?"

"Well . . . no."

"Well, how could he know then?"

"Because he's my dad. He should be able to see that I'm not happy. He should be able to look at all he has done, and realize what a bad father he really is."

Alan didn't know how to continue this conversation. All that he could think was that if the situation were reversed, and he was Jodie's father, he wouldn't have been able to tell that she was unhappy either. Kids were not his strong suit, that was for sure. Kids, often times, really confused him. Like now.

"Well, when we get out of here, we'll straighten everything out."

"It won't be easy."

"I can see that," he said.

Jodie smiled.

"Thanks for trying to help me, Alan. It's a change to meet someone in my family who is actually nice."

Alan laughed.

"You're welcome."


	20. Chapter 20: Awakenings

  


_Chapter 20: Awakenings_

  


Ellie's eyes slowly opened, as the morning sunshine invaded the tiny office she was sleeping in. The very bright sunlight was glistening into the room, causing tiny dances of light to protrude all around the objects in the office. She stretched and sat up. Ian was already awake and looking through the file cabinets again. When he heard movement, he looked over at her.

"Hey, you're awake," he said.

Ellie smiled.

"Yeah. Hello, Ian," she said, as she watched him. "What are you looking at?"

"Oh, this. I was just checking to make sure there wasn't anything else important here."

"Find anything?"

"Uh, no," Ian said, smiling. "We already seemed to have found all the important things."

Ellie began to stand up. As she did, she noticed the outside of her right thigh was very sore. She thought about what might have happened to make her leg hurt. She finally remembered. It must have happened, when she slipped and fell on that slippery deck, back on the boat. She slowly got to her feet and walked to the tiny window.

As she was looking through the window, Ian approached her.

"So, what's the plan? You have one yet?" He asked.

"I think we should try finding the bridge to get across to the other side."

"Yes, boss," Ian said.

Ellie shook her head at him. She walked to the door and cracked it open, peering outside. There were no signs of people, so she opened the door fully. She and Ian walked outside and took a quick look around. There was a runway, off in the distance, to the east, and a very high security fence, off to the distance, to the north. Ellie turned to the west. There was water, fairly close to where they were. She started to walk in that direction and Ian followed. They went past the small offices, of which there were four, and then walked until they reached the shoreline. From where they were now, Ellie could see the bridge, off to the north. There were other things visible, too, from this angle. There was a helipad, to the south, and another building, just to the north. The small offices had been blocking the view.

"Let's get over that bridge. Alan should be over there," she said, walking in that direction.

Ian nodded and followed her. As they were walking and keeping an eye out for anything unusual, Ian did, in fact, notice something unusual.

"Why aren't there any people, or employees, around here?" He asked.

"I was wondering the same thing," Ellie agreed.

In the complete silence, Ian snapped his fingers, causing Ellie to slightly jump. He smiled and looked at her.

` "It's Saturday. I think. Maybe there's not much of a crew on Saturday?"

"I think you're right. It is Saturday. Good thinking," she said, smiling.

Ian began to make grand gestures with his hands, as he spoke.

"You know me . . . uh, my mind is constantly traveling into the unknowns of---"

"Let's not get carried away, Ian." She said.

Ellie walked away from him, as he stood there, smiling.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


Tim and Lex awoke, just about at the same time. They both got to their feet. Lex went to the window, while Tim looked around the small maintenance building. He was fairly sure of which maintenance building they were in. The number 3 was etched into almost every single thing in the building, right down to the blankets. Tim walked to where Lex was.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked.

"I'm thinking we should try and call for help. We need to find a computer, or better yet, a phone," she said.

"Are you sure that we should go out there? Shouldn't we just hide, until help comes?"

"Well, we would still hide, of course, but I think we need to get to a phone," Lex said, as she became angry with their situation. "I just wish I knew if Grandpa sent help."

Tim nodded in agreement. As they stood there, trying to figure out what their next move might be, Tim heard a strange noise.

"What was that?" He asked.

"What?"

"That noise, didn't you hear it?" Tim asked.

Lex was about to say no, when there was another noise.

"There it was again. What is that?" Tim asked.

"I don't know," Lex said, as she listened to the noise. It was getting louder and more frequent. "It sounds like chirping."

"Compys," Tim said. "I bet it's Compys."

The chirping was even louder now. As Lex was looking through the window, about a dozen Compys jumped on the window sill at the same time. She screamed at the sudden movement, and jumped back. When she saw the tiny creatures, jumping up and down, and trying to get through the window unsuccessfully, she felt stupid for being afraid. She bent down and examined them closer, from the safe side of the window. They looked evil, but they were only about a foot high.

"Do these things have teeth?" She asked.

"Yes. They're carnivorous. They attack you by the hundreds and eat people alive. It could be a slow and painful death."

"Thanks for that pleasant explanation," Lex said, as she continued to observe the Compys.

Tim was about to say something else, when he heard scratching at the door. He walked up to the door and noticed that the Compys were there, as well. They were clawing, scratching, and biting at the bottom of the door. In just that short time, they had already managed to pry away a small part of the wooden door.

"Lex?" Tim asked.

Lex was still watching the tiny carnivores through the window, with quite a fascination. She was lightly tapping the window with her finger, watching them try to attack it. She spoke without looking up.

"These things are truly evil looking. I don't think I'd want to have a face to face encounter with them," she said.

"I don't think it will be much longer, before you see them up close and personal," Tim said.

"What?"

Lex looked over at Tim. He was standing by the door, kicking at the bottom of it. She could see three or four Compys trying their very best, to squeeze under the door and into the room.

"Oh, shit," she said.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


Ellie and Ian arrived at the bridge. There was a large wooden sign, just to the left of it, that said SOUTH BRIDGE. There was also an electric fence, stretching all the way across the bridge, with an accompanying gate. Ellie walked up to the gate. There was a keypad there.

"It looks like we need a five digit numerical code," she said, disappointed.

Ian walked past her and situated himself in front of the keypad. He quickly typed something in. There was a series of beeps, followed by a click. The gate opened.

"What did you type in there?" Ellie asked.

"12345," Ian replied.

"I cannot believe it was that easy," she said.

Ian shrugged, and then smiled, as he walked through the gate. Ellie looked around cautiously, before following him. They were walking on the bridge, moving toward the other side. As they walked, the gate behind them closed and clicked. Both of them suddenly felt very vulnerable, as they approached the electric fence and gate, on the other side. Ellie took a look at the keypad.

"Another five digit numerical code," she said, sighing. "I don't think it could be that easy again."

Ian walked in front of the keypad, and quickly typed something again. There was a series of beeps, but no click this time.

"Great," Ellie said, looking around.

They were stuck on the bridge, between to electric fences, with nowhere to go, but possibly into the water. They didn't have to figure out what to do. There was another series of beeps, and then the desired click. Ian put his hands up, like a magician, as the gate opened.

"Presto," he said.

Ellie hurried through the gate. Ian followed.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


Lex joined Tim, as the two of them kicked at the Compys. Quite a bit of the lower door was missing, as they continued to try to keep them back. When it looked like they were about to lose the battle with the Compys, Tim yelled to Lex.

"The window! Jump through the window!"

Lex nodded and turned toward the window and Tim quicky followed. She was about to try and open the window, but when she looked back, and saw about twenty Compys already in the room, she decided to just break it. She picked up a nearby paint can and hurled it through the window. She quickly jumped through, landed on the dirt outside of the building, and began to run. Tim was right behind her. As they ran, a few of the Compys followed them. Their tiny chirps and strange little growls echoing throughout the nearby jungle, as they communicated with their own. Soon, there were dozens of Compys grouped together, in pursuit of the humans.

Lex had ran to the west, into uncharted territory, and Tim followed her. They were running right next to each other, going as fast as they could. Tim turned quickly to see how close the Compys were. They were gaining on them very quickly, as they continued to chirp and growl. They crossed another wooden bridge, over another river, and that's when Tim slowed down. Lex glanced at him, noticed him falling behind, and immediately began to question him.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"This road isn't very good cover. We have no where to hide. They're just going to gang up and get us," he said, as he looked back.

They continued to run, as the Compys got closer and closer to them. As Tim was running, he caught a sight, out of the corner of his eye. He looked to his right and saw the head, of what he was sure, was a Triceratops. He stopped and began to swing his arms around in a grand motion, temporarily causing the Compys to retreat. As he watched them scatter, he noticed that several of them ran between the bars of the electric fence in front of them. The Compys were scurrying so fast, that they were running into both one another, and the bars of the fence. Tim smiled.

"Look at the bars. The fence. It isn't electrified," he said.

Lex looked, too, and saw the Triceratops. The Compys were already regaining their courage and rallying together, toward Tim and Lex again.

"Let's go in there. We might be able to lose them in there," she suggested.

Tim couldn't think of anything better. In fact, that was the very thing that he was going to suggest. He nodded. The two of them squeezed through the bars pretty easily, as they were spaced apart quite a bit. They continued to run through the paddock, cutting between trees and bushes, trying to get out of sight. The pursuing Compys began to lose interest, as the chase started to become an awful lot of work for the tiny creatures. With a series of chirps and low growls, they finally called the pursuit off, and scurried back toward the maintenance road, where they were more comfortable.

Tim and Lex slowed down, as they slowly began to realize that the Compys had given up. Tim finally stopped and looked around. Lex did the same, as she bent over, trying to catch her breath. Tim looked at her.

"I think we lost them," he said, hoping he was right.

"Yeah, I think so," Lex agreed, nodding. "So . . . now what?"

Tim was already taking in his surroundings. There were at least four different species of herbivores that he could see. He looked around, in awe, as the Triceratops that he had seen from the maintenance road, came up for a closer look. Tim had seen a Triceratops before, of course, back on Jurassic Park, when he was 8 years old. But this one was very different. This one was standing up and looked to be fully healthy. His mouth stood wide open, as the large horned dinosaur approached him.

Lex was taken aback by the sight, as well. The dinosaur was simply beautiful. It was gentle and very careful with Tim and Lex. It wasn't the least bit confrontational. It was simply investigating the strange creatures that wondered into its paddock. Lex reached out and attempted to touch it, as it placed its snout very close to the ground.

Tim couldn't help but laugh, as he was reminded of what happened to his sister long ago.

"Better watch it," he said, snickering. "It might sneeze on you."

Lex gave him a dirty look.

"Shut up, Tim."

Tim was still laughing. He couldn't get that look, she had on her face back then, out of his head. He tried his best to stop making noise, as Lex made contact with the Triceratops. When she touched it, the massive creature backed up, slightly alarmed by what had just occurred.

"Be careful. It doesn't understand what you're doing," Tim warned.

"I know, I know. I won't do it again. I just had to touch it, once," Lex said.

As she took a few steps back, to offer a surrender of sorts, she noticed another rather strange looking dinosaur. It was a little ways out in the distance, to the west.

"What kind of dinosaur is that?" She asked Tim, as she pointed.

Tim looked where she was pointing and immediately saw what she was asking about. It was a rather large dinosaur, about 30 feet in length. It walked on all fours. It had a long neck, together with a long tail, but a rather small head with large eyes. It was quite a unique looking dinosaur.

"Riojasaurus. An herbivore. Don't worry," he said, as he began to laugh again. "It's a veggisaurus, Lex."

Lex shook a finger at him.

"Quit making fun of me for being young and naive. I didn't know a thing about any of those dinosaurs back then. I wasn't, and never will be, a dinosaur expert, so why don't you cut me a little slack? Okay? Enough already. You're starting to get me very angry, Timmy."

Tim noticed her use of the word "Timmy", and it upset him. He didn't like to be called "Timmy". He almost hated it, actually. But he didn't let on that he was mad about it.

"Sorry," he simply apologized.

They walked through the paddock for a little while longer, taking the time to observe some of the other herbivores. There were herds of Brachiosaurus and Stegosaurus, across the way to the east, in the distance. There was some other herbivore over there, too, but Tim couldn't quite make out what it was. He finally decided that it was either an Iganodon or a Maiasaura.

Lex had been walked along very quietly, looking around, just taking in the beautiful surroundings. They had crossed over a very shallow river, while inside the paddock and were walking along, when she noticed a building to their left.

"Do you see that?" She asked.

Tim looked ahead.

"Yeah. Looks like some sort of building. Let's head in that direction. Maybe there's a computer or a phone, in there."

Lex nodded in agreement, as the two of them began to jog toward the electric fence, so that they could get out of the paddock.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


Ellie and Ian were making very good time, as they walked toward a grey building, that could be easily seen from the bridge. Ellie hoped it was the lab and that she would be able to find Alan there. She desperately needed to see him, as her woman's intuition was telling her that he was in some kind of trouble. She was walking, almost running, with a purpose.

"You okay, Ellie?" Ian asked.

When Ian spoke, Ellie came right back to reality. She stopped and looked at him for a second.

"I'm fine. Why?"

"You're just acting a little bizarre."

"Bizarre? I'm acting bizarre?" Ellie asked, as she started to laugh. "You, my friend, are the king of bizarre. How am I acting bizarre?"

Ian laughed. It was one of those run-on laughs of his, that Ellie didn't care for. In fact, now that she thought about it, the man was always laughing and smiling, and it made her a little uneasy. He continued to laugh.

"Bizarre, uh, might not have been the correct word. Sorry. Don't be so high strung. Relax a little. You're going to give yourself heart palpitations."

Ellie just shook it all off. She knew that she was overly anxious about the whereabouts of Alan, and that she was, more or less, just taking it out on poor Ian.

"I'm sorry, Ian. I'm just worried about Alan."

"It's understandable. No need to apologize."

Ellie smiled.

"Thanks."

Ian nodded.

"No problem. Now, let's get to that lab."

They walked toward the large grey building, hoping that it really was the lab they were looking for.


	21. Chapter 21: Introducing Ethan

_Chapter 21: Introducing Ethan_

  


The morning hours were adding up quickly, as Bodan walked back into the Main Control Room. There were two young men in the control room, typing frantically. He saw that Daniel was hard at work on the far computer.

"What's back online, Daniel?"

Daniel took a slight break from the computer, and looked up at Bodan.

"Well, sir. Most of the fences are operational again, with the exception of the Herbivore Paddock. I needed to reroute some power from there, to the Albertosaurus Paddock, after Ally went through the fence in two places."

Daniel always referred to the Albertosaurus as "Ally". Ally was his favorite, so he had given it a nickname.

"So, the fence in the Albertosaurus Paddock is fixed?"

"Yes, sir. We had the adequate supplies over at the new construction site, where the Mini-Lab is."

"Good. So it's back in its paddock, then?"

"Yes, sir. And so is one of the lost Elasmosaurs. The other one, the infant, was unfortunately found dead, floating in the water."

Bodan was honestly upset about that. Envoy was going to be very, very unhappy with that news. Maybe he would delegate the news update to Jacob.

"Any idea what happened?" Bodan asked.

"No, not yet. Jacob helicoptered the carcass over to the main lab last night. We might know more by the afternoon."

"What about the cameras? Are they working?"

"Not quite yet. I have a few online, right now, but only a small handful. Like seven of them."

"When will they be up?"

"Not until Monday, I'm afraid. Most of the computers used to serve the cameras, were in Control Room 3. There were a few here, in this control room, and that's why we have the seven cameras. The parts that I need won't be here until Monday."

Bodan didn't like that at all. He depended on those cameras quite a bit. He didn't really even realize his dependancy, until this moment. He decided to change the subject, before he grew more angry about it.

"What about the gates? Were members of the crew able to get back to this side without incident?"

"Yes. I had to reprogram the keypad, since the codes were completely wiped out. The men were frantic, though, and couldn't manage to type a correct code in. So I had to reprogram the keypad again, making it so that, no matter what five digit code they put in, the gate would still open."

"So everyone got back safe? And the boat . . . did the boat launch successfully?"

The boat would routinely leave every Friday evening, to take the crew back to the Baja Peninsula. That would leave them with a skeleton crew of about five, including Bodan and Daniel. The Baryonyx, after disabling the southern fences of the park, had delayed everything by about half a day.

"Yes, Mr. Bodan. The boat left the East Dock about an hour ago. All the necessary crew made it aboard."

Bodan walked toward the door.

"I'll be right back, Daniel. I'm going to smoke a cigarette, or two."

"Yes, sir."

Bodan walked outside and began to vent, as he lit up a cigarette. He was beyond angry, with the events that had transpired since yesterday. He still hadn't figured out who was responsible for letting the Baryonyx out. The men were protecting the guilty party, and that enraged him. He would make it a personal mission to figure it all out.

As Daniel was waiting, he began typing again. He was checking on security throughout the island. They were in the Main Control Room, located on the North side of the smaller portion of the island. This control room was only a few steps from the eight fully functional office buildings. The North Bridge was within walking distance, as well.

Daniel had insisted on having three separate computer control rooms. There was Control Room 2, on the same portion, located at the Southern tip. It was very close to the South Bridge, the only existing runway, and Helipad 2. There were also four more office buildings in that area, but they weren't used by anyone at this time. Envoy had hoped to open them for tourists, at a later date. He wanted a place where tourists could book future trips to Isla Norte, after they would hopefully be dazzled by the first trip. He also wanted to use one of the offices for legal work. A place where the tourists would have to sign in writing, that they saw nothing more than a biological preserve. None of that was needed yet, though.

And then there was Control Room 3, that had been located on the larger portion of the park, almost all the way on the West Coast of the island. Control Room 3 was stocked with wireless remote servers. Daniel always carried a laptop computer with him. Using the Secondary Control Room, he was able to operate the park from anywhere on the island.

While Daniel was waiting for orders from Bodan, he noticed a potential problem with one of the undamaged remote servers in Control Room 3. He decided to get some details squared away.

"Ethan?" He asked.

"Yes?"

"I'm not getting a reading on RS33. Could you check into that?" He asked.

"No problem," Ethan said.

Ethan Davis was a 22 year old college graduate that Daniel had hired. After seeing some of Ethan's work on an internet website three years earlier, Daniel felt the need to meet with the man. Ethan was a whiz with computers. He had hacked his way into an online banking website, just to prove that he could. He didn't tamper with anything, besides just loading a few harmless images of his own on every page of the site, just to let them know he was there. That little stunt would have gone unnoticed, if it weren't for the fact that Daniel Nupin was the bank's web master. The fact that someone could penetrate his security, both angered and impressed Daniel. He tracked the hacker down, using his own sophisticated techniques and the mysterious hacker agreed to meet with him. Three years, and countless computer hours later, they were working here, together.

Bodan walked back into the room, as he had just thought of another question.

"With all that's happened, I almost forgot about young Ms. Grant. Are you still able to track her, Daniel?"

Daniel smiled.

"Of course, Mr. Bodan. Jodie Grant hasn't been able to get by me."

Daniel filed a few keystrokes, and a different screen appeared. It was a black screen, with green circles of varying sizes, along with a small red blinking dot. Daniel put his finger up to the monitor, right on the red dot.

"There she is, sir."

Bodan smiled.

"Well, then, let's go get her."


	22. Chapter 22: Putting A Face With The Ene...

_Chapter 22: Putting A Face With The Enemy _

  


Alan and Jodie continued to head to the west. Alan was still helping Jodie, but she was starting to walk on her own some. Her leg was feeling a lot better, as the day progressed. For about the last hour Jodie was asking Alan a million questions about dinosaurs. She wanted to have the knowledge, in case she needed it later. Alan explained to her about all the new species that he believed were roaming the island. He explained to her how the dinosaurs were, more than likely, safely behind electric fences, but that it was only a guess, at this point. The Albertosaurus was definitely not behind a working electric fence. The fence had somehow malfunctioned. Alan figured that there could very well be other dinosaurs roaming around.

They walked for about 2 hours, stopping a few times to let Jodie rest. They were stopped right now, resting. Alan looked to the West and noticed that there was something in the distance. It looked like it could be a building.

"Jodie, can you see that?" He asked, pointing.

Jodie looked.

"Yeah. What do you think it is?"

"I don't know. Let's go that way," Alan said, looking around. "I feel like a sitting duck out here in the open like this."

"Okay."

Jodie got back up. As they started walking that way, she thought she heard something.

"Did you hear that?"

"Yeah."

"What is it?" She whispered.

"Sounds like . . . a car."

Jodie tensed. They were right in the open, with nothing around to run for cover.

"Come on. Let's head toward that tree line over there," Alan suggested.

He grabbed Jodie's arm and helped her go quicker. They were almost to the tree line, when a human voice was heard.

"I think that's far enough. Stop. Both of you."

Jodie instantly knew who it was. She and Alan stopped. As they turned around, Jodie whispered to Alan.

"That's Bodan."

Alan sighed. He hadn't had the pleasure of meeting Bodan yet, but he had heard about some of the awful things that Bodan had done. He turned around and saw that Bodan wasn't alone. There were two men with him, and each of them had a gun. He put up his hands. Jodie did the same.

Bodan and his two assistants got out of their jeep. Bodan approached Alan and Jodie, while the other two men stayed closer to the jeep, aiming their guns at Alan. Bodan was now directly in front of them. Alan made a mental note about just how large this man was. He was surprised just how much taller he was than himself. Alan had to look up quite a long way. He noticed a bandage on Bodan's face, and it was very much soaked in blood. It looked very painful.

Bodan studied the stranger that was with Jodie. He smiled, as he recognized the man.

"Dr. Grant, I presume."

Alan nodded.

"I'm pleased to have finally met you, sir."

Alan just stared at him. The guns aimed at his head were making him very nervous.

"You can put your hands down," Bodan said. He looked at Jodie. "You, too, my dear."

Alan put his hands down. Jodie did the same. She inched closer to Alan and grasped his hand.

"You're not much of a talker, are you, Dr. Grant?" Bodan asked, smiling.

"I guess I'm not," Alan said.

"I bet you're wondering how I found you."

"Yes. I was wondering about that," Alan said.

Bodan stepped over to Jodie and reached for her arm. The sudden movement made Jodie back away. Alan put his arm in front of Bodan, in an attempt to stop him from scaring her.

"Dr. Grant, you don't want to get shot, do you?"

"Of course not."

"Well, I suggest you let me go about my business, sir. Otherwise, my associates will be forced to shoot you."

Alan moved his arm away. He looked at the guns that were still pointing at his head. He knew he needed to remain calm.

"Thank you. Now, what I was going to show you, is this," Bodan said, grabbing Jodie's wrist.

He took off the bracelet she was wearing and tossed it at Alan.

"We affixed a little transmitter in her bracelet. We've been following her for quite a while now. Imagine my surprise, when I found you with her."

"What are you planning to do?" Alan asked.

"Oh, I'm not quite sure, yet. I do know one fact, for certain."

"What's that?" Alan asked.

"You will not be as lucky as you have been in the past, Dr. Grant. This dinosaur island will be very different."

Jodie grabbed Alan's hand again. He quickly looked at her, before turning his gaze upon Bodan again. Alan was starting to suspect that Bodan really didn't have any use for them. He could only hope that Mr. Envoy wanted them alive, for some reason.

"Again, Mr. Bodan. What are you planning to do?" Alan asked.

Jodie tensed up. She really didn't think it would be too much longer before Bodan had his men gun Alan down. She began to cry. Alan let her hand go and put his arm around her shoulder.

Bodan looked at her.

"Now, now, Jodie. Don't be sad. It'll all be over very soon, my dear."

Bodan reached his hand out to touch Jodie. Alan moved her out of the way.

"Please, leave her alone," Alan said.

Jodie grabbed onto Alan, gripping him around the waist tightly. She was still looking toward Bodan, so she was able to see him take a swing at Alan. She saw Alan deflect the attack away with his right arm. As Alan did that, Bodan's men came running up, guns still aimed at Alan.

Alan took a quick look at the guns that were now very close to his face. He held up his hands again.

"Okay, okay. Sorry. Relax," he said.

Bodan smiled. He looked at the two men.

"Dr. Grant was just protecting a family member. Everything is quite okay. I assure both of you," Bodan said. "You two can back up a little. Give Dr. Grant and I some room."

The two men did what they were told. They went backwards about 3 steps, their guns still aimed.

"So, who else is here with you, on this little rescue mission?" Bodan asked.

Alan didn't answer.

Bodan smiled coldly.

"Are you comprehending what I'm saying, Dr. Grant? Or has the sun warped your mind?"

"I'm here alone," Alan finally said.

Alan still had his hands up. Jodie was still holding onto him. Bodan stepped up and swung his fist toward Alan again. This time, the punch connected. Alan was understandably dazed as he staggered to the right, holding his jaw.

Jodie let his waist go, but grabbed onto his left arm. She was beyond frightened. She really thought that Bodan was going to beat Alan to death, right in front of her. To her surprise though, he backed off after the first hit. Instead he barked an order to one of the armed men.

"Smith. Knock him out."

Alan and Jodie both heard the command. Alan tried to come up with some sort of defense against Smith, but Bodan quickly came up to him. Bodan struck Alan in the stomach. As Alan doubled over, he saw the butt of Smith's gun coming at him. That was the last thing Alan saw.

Smith hit Alan with the gun as hard as he could. He watched him fall down. He looked, to make sure he wasn't moving. He wasn't. He was out cold.

Jodie screamed, as Bodan and Smith attacked Alan. It happened so quickly, that Jodie didn't have a chance to help. He fell down right next to her and lay, unmoving, on the ground. She knelt down next to him.

"Alan! Alan!" She said, as she began to cry.

"He'll be all right, my dear. For now, anyway. Although, one can't really know when some large creature might come around," Bodan said, smiling. "Get in the jeep, Ms. Grant."

Jodie looked up at him. She didn't want to leave Alan, in the middle of nowhere, all by himself.

"No. You can't leave him here like this." 

"Would you rather I have Smith shoot him?"

"NO!" she yelled, as she kept trying to shake Alan awake.

"Well, then, get in the jeep. It's that simple. Jeep. Dr. Grant doesn't get shot. No jeep. Dr. Grant gets shot."

Jodie looked at Alan for any signs of life. He was breathing, but not much else. He was still out cold. He had blood coming from his head, as well. Jodie made the only decision she could.

"Okay. I'll get in the stupid jeep."

Jodie looked at Alan again. She leaned over and gently kissed his cheek. Bodan became impatient.

"How touching. Let's get a move on," he said coldly.

Jodie stood up and walked between the two armed men, toward the jeep. Bodan followed. When Jodie reached the jeep, she turned and looked at Alan again.

"He's not going anywhere," Bodan said.

He forced her into the jeep. She was instructed to sit in the passenger seat. The two armed men went around the rear and jumped into the back of the jeep. Bodan got in the driver's seat. Jodie never took her eyes off of Alan. He still wasn't moving, which was making her very concerned.

Bodan backed the jeep up, and continued going South. He looked at Jodie.

"Don't look so worried, my dear."

Jodie said nothing. A few tears ran down her cheek, but she didn't say a word.

Bodan grabbed his walkie talkie.

"Jacob. Bodan here. Over."

A few seconds went by and then there was a response.

"Yes, Bodan. What?"

Bodan looked at Jodie. She made eye contact with him. He smiled, as he talked into the radio.

"Jacob. Let the Suchomimus out. We're got a minor problem to contend with in Section 4."

Jodie stared at Bodan in disbelief. Then, her disbelief turned to anger.

"What are you doing?" She yelled.

Bodan laughed.

"Taking care of Dr. Grant. You really didn't think I'd let him get away, did you?"

Jodie couldn't think of anything more to say. All that she really wanted to do was kill Bodan. But since she didn't have a weapon, she did the next thing that came to mind. She jumped out of the jeep, as it was moving.

Bodan was stunned by Jodie's actions. He slammed on the brakes. The jeep skidded for quite a long ways in the dirt, before it finally stopped moving. The two armed men jumped out immediately. Bodan stayed in the jeep. He turned it around and started slowly driving back the way he came.

When Jodie jumped from the jeep, she landed on the ground very hard. She rolled several times, trying to break her fall. She quickly got up and ran toward the tree line, which wasn't all that far away at this point. Her leg was really hurting, but she forced herself to keep going. She heard the jeep's motor coming back. She turned her head to see how close it was. She couldn't see it yet. She reached the tree line and ran into the jungle. Suddenly, she could hear men talking. She stopped, so that they wouldn't hear her running. Then, she dunked down and hid. She could see the two armed men walking in the dirt, just outside of the jungle, where she was hiding. Then she saw Bodan pull up in the jeep. He got out and ran toward the two armed men.

"Where is she?"

"I don't know, sir," Smith answered.

"Well, GO FIND HER," Bodan yelled.

"Yes, sir," Smith said.

Jodie watched the two men go into the jungle. Neither of them came in her direction, which made her understandably happy. She heard Bodan's walkie talkie, so she turned her attention back toward him.

"Mr. Bodan. The Suchomimus isn't cooperating," a voice on the other end said.

"Who is this?"

"It's Ethan, sir."

"Well, Ethan, put Jacob back on."

"Yes, sir. One moment." 

A few minutes went by before Jacob communicated with Bodan.

"Bodan, the dinosaur is not doing what we were advised that it would do. When the gate was opened, it didn't run out. Instead, it refuses to leave its paddock."

"Can't you coax it out?"

"We've tried. We're still trying. I'll keep you updated."

Jodie could see that Bodan was very unhappy with the news he just received.

"Jacob. I want that dinosaur out. I want that dinosaur over in section 4 just as soon as possible."

"Okay. I'm trying my best. Maybe we should try a different dinosaur instead."

Bodan thought that over.

"Yes, maybe that would be a good idea. If that Suchomimus doesn't leave its paddock in 20 minutes, scrap that plan and go with the Tyrannosaurus Rex.," Bodan said, smiling. "I believe it's a favorite of Dr. Grant's."

"Okay. I'll let you know."

Bodan placed his walkie talkie in its place on his belt. He looked around for his two assistants.

"Smith! Come back over here! Forget about the girl. We need to leave this place right now. In 20 minutes, the T-Rex is going to be freed."

It didn't take long for the two men to emerge from the jungle. All three men knew what freeing the T-Rex meant. A lot of destruction. Bodan didn't want to be anywhere near section 4 when the giant carnivore was released. The three men got back into the jeep. Bodan started it and floored it, going back to the East, toward the office portion of the island.

Jodie waited a few minutes, and then she came out of the jungle. No one was in sight. She started to run back to where she thought Alan would be.


	23. Chapter 23: On The Run

_Chapter 23: On The Run_

Jacob waited the 20 minutes, and then he instructed Daniel to close the Suchomimus gate, and to open the T-Rex gate. Daniel wasn't sure he had heard the command right.

"You want the Tyrannosaurus Rex out?" He asked.

"Yes. That's what I said. What part didn't you get, Daniel?"

"Sorry," Daniel said.

He made his way through several touch screens in order to close the Suchomimus gate. It only took about 1 minute. Then, he looked back at Jacob.

"Sir, I really think that you should rethink the Rex idea for right now."

"Why is that?"

"The accident with the Baryonyx, from yesterday afternoon, weakened some of the fences."

Jacob knew absolutely nothing about computers. They gave him a very large headache.

"How?" He asked.

"Some of the fences aren't getting full power to them. I sent Ethan to Control Room 2, in order to manually reroute some of the power again. This time, we should have everything working properly and up to code."

"Does Bodan know that the fences aren't quite up to code?"

"I don't know, sir. But I do know that the fence, just outside Section 4, hasn't been properly powered yet. I'm afraid that if you let out the Rex, it could go to that fence and force its way into Section 3. You can't want that."

Jacob was about to respond, when a frantic voice over the walkie talkie interrupted them.

"Daniel! Daniel? Are you there? Over."

Daniel picked up the walkie talkie. He recognized the voice. It was the weekend lab technician. He would sit around and make sure nothing bad happened in the lab. That was his only job. The fact that he was calling in such a frantic voice, obviously worried Daniel a great deal.

"Yeah, I'm here, what's the matter?"

"There is a . . . problem . . . with one of the dinosaurs over here!"

Jacob took the walkie talkie from Daniel.

"Jacob here. Define . . . problem."

"Well, some of the dinosaurs escaped their holding area and are running free somewhere in the lab, sir."

Jacob looked at Daniel, hoping that he would have a solution. He did.

"Tell him to seal off the part of the lab he is in and we'll send help."

Jacob nodded and relayed the message. There was about a minute of silence, and then the man's voice was heard again. It was much calmer.

"Okay. I've barricaded myself in the middle section, on the first floor. Please send help."

Jacob said something to him, that Daniel didn't quite hear. Then he looked back at Daniel.

"Now, where were we?" Jacob asked.

"The fences. They're not up to code. We need to fix them before you go letting out a 6 ton dinosaur," Daniel said, recapping the best he could.

"Good point. I'll take it up with Bodan. Hold on."

"Yes, sir," Daniel said.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


Alan slowly started to work his way back to consciousness. At first, he just lay there on the ground, listening to the various sounds of nature all around him. Then he began to remember where he was and what had happened.

He was lying on his side. He slowly began to move his arms and legs, making sure they all worked. As he attempted to sit up, the sudden pain, coming from his head, forced him to lay back down. He reached around to the back of his head, trying to find the source of the pain. When he brought his arm back around, there was blood on his hand.

Then he remembered Jodie. He was still dizzy, as he started to look for her. He sat up, as fast as he could, and started yelling her name. When he started yelling, he realized that his jaw wasn't right, either. He held onto it for a second of two, trying to rub some of the pain out. When he moved his hand away, there was blood again. Bodan, and Smith, had really gotten him good in just those few minutes.

He managed to get up. He slowly walked over to where the jeep had been, and discovered tire tracks in the dirt. They continued to the west. He started to follow them, hoping to catch up with Jodie somehow.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


Daniel was typing, and talking to Ethan at the same time on the walkie talkie. They were trying to coordinate the fences, to make sure they were all properly reinforced. They finally had completed the delicate task. Daniel, who was still in the Main Control Room, looked at Jacob.

"Okay. We've got the fences running smoothly."

"Good. Let out the Tyrannosaurus Rex."

"Yes, sir."

Daniel typed a few quick commands and the gate for the T-Rex opened. One of the cameras, that were still operational, was located near the T-Rex Paddock, so when Daniel saw that one of them walked out of the paddock, he closed the gate back, with a few more simple keystrokes.

"Okay, it's out. And it's going toward the maintenance road."

Jacob smiled.

"If we're lucky, we might be able to see it eat Dr. Grant. Any idea where he is?"

"No. The camera range isn't that great. I have no idea where he is, but I'm sure that the T-Rex will find him. Just give a few moments. It's an extraordinary hunter."

Jacob was about to say something else, when a frantic Ethan was heard over the walkie talkie.

"Daniel! Come in, Daniel!"

Daniel quickly picked up the walkie talkie.

"Yeah?"

"I just noticed something over here. I'm hoping it's a malfunction. Can you check something for me over there?"

"Sure."

"Access Fence Security for me."

Daniel typed, and quickly got to Fence Security.

"Okay, I'm there."

"Now check the Velociraptor Fence for me. I'm mainly interested in the recently added overhead electric fencing."

Daniel accessed the Velociraptor Paddock Fence Security.

"It's working, Ethan. It's online."

"That's good," Ethan said with relief.

"Why?"

"Because, according to this notation near the fuse box over here, the Raptor overhead fence is routed into the Southern paddocks, instead of the Northern ones."

"Why would they do that?" Jacob interrupted.

Daniel didn't answer him. He started to run the dinosaur field test program.

"Are all the Raptors accounted for?" Ethan asked over the walkie talkie.

"I'm checking on that now. Hold on."

"Okay," Ethan said.

Jacob watched, as Daniel typed and typed and typed. Then he just stared at the screen, not saying a word. Just staring.

"Are they all there?" Jacob asked.

Daniel looked at him.

"According to the computer, there is only one Raptor in the paddock. One."

Jacob took the walkie talkie from the desk.

"Ethan, he says the computer only picked up one Raptor in the paddock."

"Oh, my God," Ethan whispered.

Daniel looked at Jacob.

"That's a very bad thing," Daniel dramatically understated.

Jacob was furious. He began to scream at Daniel now.

"Why didn't we already know this!"

"Because none of the systems are set to automatic right now. We had to conserve system memory, in order to reroute power systems back and forth."

"What the hell does that mean, Daniel?"

"It means that we should have manually checked all of the paddocks, sir. But since the outage occurred to the south, we didn't think of checking the paddocks to the north."

Jacob looked away.

"Bodan is going to be pissed."

Just as the words came out of his mouth, Patrick Bodan walked into the Main Control Room.

"Bodan is going to pissed about what?" He asked, as he threw the cigarette he was smoking to the floor.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


Alan had made his way to the narrow concrete road, that ran through the middle of the island. The sun was beaming down on him, making him even more uncomfortable. He walked for only about 15 minutes, before he stopped for a quick rest. He had a tremendous headache. There was no where to sit, so he walked off the path and toward the tree line. There, he leaned on a tree, getting out of the sun for a minute. While resting, he spotted a building in the distance, along with something else. He squinted in the sunlight, and finally identified what it was. It was a wooden sign, coming up through the ground. He walked toward it. As he got closer, he could read what it said. It said MONORAIL ENTRANCE / MALL. The sign came up to about his waist and there was an arrow, pointing toward a rather large building, just past the sign.

"Monorail?" Alan said to himself.

He looked up and laughed. There was a track made of concrete, quite a distance above him. There were also massive concrete posts, rising up to meet the concrete track. The track led into the large building, and then came out the other side. He was laughing because he hadn't even noticed the track, until right now. The tracks went on, as far as he could see, in both directions. He sat down on top of the sign and thought about where to go and what to do. He was slightly turned around now, after being knocked unconscious, but he was certain that he hadn't seen this monorail/mall building before. Logically, he was pretty sure the lab, where he was supposed to meet Ian and Ellie, was back the other way. After checking his head, to see if it was still bleeding, he got up and started to cautiously walk the other way, toward the lab. At least he hoped so.

As he walked, he started to wonder why there weren't any people or trucks around. He didn't have very long to think about that, though. Suddenly, a loud and frightening roar was heard all around him. Alan stopped and quickly scanned the area, trying to figure out which direction the roar came from. As he was scanning, he walked backwards and toward the mall. He reached the main door of the mall and tried to open it. The door was locked, but the doors where made of glass. He looked around for something to throw into the glass, and that's when the ground began to shake. Something very big was heading his way. After a few seconds, he finally saw what belonged to the deafening roar. It was the Tyrannosaurus Rex and it was tracking him fast. It seemed to look right at him, making him temporarily freeze in terror. The T-Rex thundered toward him.

Getting the door open was now Alan's top priority. He saw a garbage can, sitting close to the concrete walkway, a few steps from the entrance. He ran toward it. In the direction of the oncoming dinosaur. He quickly grabbed hold of the garbage can and carried it back toward the glass doors. The T-Rex was all the way to the wooden sign that Alan had been sitting on, just moments before. Alan made it to the doors and, raising up the garbage can, he threw it into the doors. Glass shattered all over and the garbage can rolled down the hallway of the building.

Alan jumped through the broken glass and ran to his right, in an attempt to get out of view. When he disappeared, the pursuing T-Rex lost sight of the movement, and stopped. It stood there, trying to track which way its meal had gone. Alan was pressed up against the wall, right next to the shattered glass doors, hoping that he wouldn't be seen. He wasn't. The T-Rex stood still, and looked around, for about five minutes. Then it finally gave up the search.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jodie made it back to where she thought Alan was left behind. He wasn't there. She looked around, trying to find signs that she was, at least, in the right place. She found the jeep tracks, where the jeep had stopped and she found her bracelet on the ground, very near to where blood was splattered on the ground. There was no evidence that Alan was dragged away and eaten, so Jodie sighed with relief. 

As she was looking at the jeep tracks, she noticed something else. There were footprints! Footprints going in a westerly direction. She followed them, with her eyes. They continued on, as far as she could see. They must have belonged to Alan. She smiled, as she quickly followed them.

After a few minutes, her happy mood changed. The farther she went, the more worried she became. She was starting to lose her sense of direction, plus she started to have doubts about the footprints belonging to Alan. They really could have belonged to any worker on the island. She thought that she should have ran into him by now. She didn't think he had that much of a head start. She kept on following the footprints, though. As she followed them, they ended when it looked like Alan started walking on the narrow concrete road. Jodie continued on, not really knowing if that was really the right thing to do.

After about 10 minutes, she heard a very loud roar, coming from in front of her somewhere. She stopped walking forward, and instantly ran for the cover of the trees. She stood there for a few minutes, listening to the continuing roaring. She wasn't sure if it was coming closer, or going farther away. She decided to stay put, and wait it out.

It wasn't a long wait, before she saw the source of the roar. She guessed that it was a Tyrannosaurus Rex, since it resembled what she had seen in books. She was completely captivated by the colossal creature, as it walked past her, shaking the ground with every step it took. It hadn't seen her. It just kept walking to the east, with no particular urgency. Jodie sighed with relief, as she continued to watch it move past her. The shaking of the ground also subsided. Then, just as she was thinking about going on, the ground began to shake harder again. She looked back toward where the beast had gone, and saw that it had turned around, and was studying the area that she was in. She remembered reading that the T-Rex couldn't see very well, so she stayed absolutely still. It still seemed to know that someone was there. It was bringing its huge head back and forth, sniffing the air. Jodie remained calm and still, as it began to walk toward the trees she was hiding next to. She closed her eyes, held her breath, and hoped for the best.

While her eyes were closed, she heard another high pitched growl, coming from the opposite way. It was definitely the growl of another dinosaur, originating where the T-Rex had come from. She opened her eyes, and regretted it immediately. The T-Rex had its snout very, very close to where she was. She almost screamed in panic, but then remembered the other growl she had heard. She looked beyond the T-Rex's snout, and spotted two other smaller dinosaurs, running swiftly down the concrete road. She lost sight of the smaller dinosaurs, as they ran past the T-Rex, and then caught sight of them again, when they safely made it past. The T-Rex turned its massive head, when it caught a glimpse of movement. It roared and turned the rest of its body quickly. It rumbled off in pursuit of the smaller dinosaurs.

Jodie had been standing through the entire ordeal. When the T-Rex finally disappeared from her sight, she collapsed to the ground, in a heaping mess. She sincerely hoped she was never that close to a T-Rex again. She had read Alan's account of his confrontation with a T-Rex, but couldn't truly respect it, until now. How he was able to stay perfectly calm, and to keep the little girl completely calm, was beyond her. If that dinosaur had stared in her direction for another minute, she would have broken down. That much was certain to Jodie. She would have broken down and been eaten. She stood up and began to run to the west again, in the direction she hoped Alan had gone. She needed to find him right now, before her stupidity would get her killed. She didn't want to be on her own any longer. She ran, as fast as she could.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


Alan began to explore the hallway that he was hidden in. After the T-Rex had wandered off, he felt temporarily safe. As he was walking, he started to think of Ellie and Jodie. Mostly Jodie, since she was probably with the enemy. Probably with Bodan. He hadn't had much of a chance to get to know her. He hoped that she was safe from harm.

His mind drifted to Ellie. She had Ian with her, at least. Alan didn't like the idea of Ian being alone with Ellie. Not at all. He cringed, as he thought about Ian hitting on her, over and over again. He knew Ellie could take care of herself, but he wished that he was with her, instead of that annoying man.

As Alan was lost in thought, he heard a noise, coming from one of the other rooms. His stopped and looked around, trying to figure out which room it had come from. There were about a dozen doors, up and down the hallway, and it was beginning to make Alan a little uneasy. There were too many places for something to hide. He heard another noise and this time it was definitely a dinosaur. It was a high pitched snarl. He didn't wait around to find out what it was. He began running down the hallway, in an attempt to get as far away from the snarling as possible. He began to open and close doors rapidly, as he continued to make his way, deeper into the mall area.


	24. Chapter 24: Raptors, Dilos, and TRex ...

_Chapter 24: Raptors, Dilos, and T-Rex . . . Oh, My! _

  


Ian smiled, as he realized that the building they were walking toward, was the lab they had been looking for. He and Ellie walked up to one of the side doors, and quietly went inside. The lab was a very big building. As they walked inside, there was a diagram of the building interior. It had two floors, and was divided into three sections, with hallways connecting every section to the next. They were standing in the section closest to the middle of the island. It was quite large, with a very high ceiling.

"Well, we made it," Ian said. "Where do you think Alan is?"

"I don't know. Let's look around for him. Come on," she said.

Ellie walked through the section they were in, and approached the stainless steel security door. There was a place to put your hand print for identification. She frowned, as she looked at Ian.

"Okay, genius. Get us through this one."

Ian laughed at her. He was about to enthral Ellie with his intellect, once again, when the stainless steel door flew open. A man, who was on the other side of the door, ran head on, into Ian. Both of them fell to the floor, leaving Ellie the only one standing. She was about to yell at the man for needlessly plowing Ian down, when she saw that there was something else coming through the door. She yelled, as she bent over and attempted to drag Ian out of the way.

"Ian, get up!"

She knew what it was, that had burst through the door. The colorful crest on its head, identified it as a Dilophosaurus. The only positive thing she could think of, was that it didn't seem to be full grown. It was only about 7 feet tall, which was plenty tall enough, in Ellie's opinion. The frenzied man was screaming and waving his arms around, while still on top of Ian. Ian saw that Ellie was trying to help, so he reached his arm out to her. She took it, and, with all her might, managed to drag Ian out from under the frantic man. It was then, that Ian and Ellie noticed why the man was acting so strange. He had a black substance all over both of his forearms, and it seemed to be burning through his skin, like acid.

Ian quickly got to his feet and checked his own body, to make sure the man didn't pass it along. He hadn't, and Ian looked relieved . . . for a second. The Dilophosaurus let out a strange vocal noise, and then a frill lifted up, around its neck. It began to hiss. Ian looked up, as Ellie yelled at him.

"Ian, watch out! It's going to spit again!"

The Dilophosaurus was still in the doorway. It swayed its head back and forth several times, and then the last time it moved its head forward, a black substance shot from its mouth. Ian darted to his left just in time. The black substance went right by his head, and stuck to some papers, that were tacked to the wall behind him. He ran to Ellie and grabbed her hand.

"Let's get the hell out of here!" He yelled.

"What about him?" Ellie asked, pointing to the man, who was still on the floor.

Ian didn't get a chance to respond. The Dilophosaurus had bent down, as Ellie was talking, and bit down on one of the man's waving arms. Just as the dinosaur attacked the man, three more Dilophosaurs appeared behind the first one. All of them growling and hooting. One of the newly appeared Dilophosaurs joined in with the first one, and finished off the wounded man. Ian and Ellie began to run for the outside door. Ian opened it and was about to make a run for it, when another unexpected surprise greeted him.

The two Velociraptors, that had run past Jodie earlier, had lost the pursuing T-Rex, and had made their way to the lab. They had been investigating the area carefully, when Ian opened the door. They were just as surprised as he was, by the encounter. The Raptors immediately snarled and snapped at Ian, causing him to back up the other way, and into the lab again. Ellie was right behind him, and was forced backwards, as well. The two humans were in between two carnivorous species of dinosaurs. They were sure they would be torn apart, by one or the other, or both.

That's not what happened. When the Dilophosaurs saw the Raptors, they began to growl and hoot, swaying their heads back and forth. The Raptors had never seen this type of behavior before, and didn't know how to counteract it. They ignored the humans . . . for now, and went for the more serious threat, the other dinosaurs. Both of the Raptors leapt toward the four Dilophosaurs, claws extended.

As the Raptors jumped, Ian ducked out of the way, by diving to the ground. He grabbed Ellie by the arm, and pulled her down with him. From the ground, they turned just in time, to see the Raptors rising above their heads, toward the Dilophosaurs.

Two of the Dilophosaurs, frills out, spit at the flying Raptors. The black substance struck one of the Raptors in the eyes, while it was in mid air. It let out a yelp, as it hit the ground sideways, sliding toward the awaiting Dilophosaurs. When it finally stopped sliding, it was permanently blinded. It tried striking out toward where it thought its adversaries might be, but it wasn't able to connect. The Dilophosaurs were too quick. Two of them, working as a team, attacked the wounded Raptor. One of them spit at the Raptor again, hitting it in the head, while the other one started to bite at its mid section. In no time, they had the Raptor defeated.

The other Raptor had landed just to the right of the Dilophosaurs. It was all alone now, one against four. It realized that it couldn't win, so it made a run for it. It leapt completely over the two Dilophosaurs, closest to it, that were finishing off the blinded Raptor. It landed in between the other two Dilophosaurs, that were still very close to the unknown, and now deceased man. The Raptor was able to catch those two dinosaurs completely off guard. It attacked the closest Dilophosaurus, and was able to jump up, and slice its throat. The wounded Dilophosaurus cried out, and then, taking a few last breaths, collapsed to the ground, next to the half-eaten man. The Raptor, sensing that it probably couldn't do any more damage, retreated through the opened door, and ran down the hallway, toward the middle section of the lab. Two of the remaining Dilophosaurs followed it, leaving one for Ian and Ellie to deal with.

Ian and Ellie were back to their feet, by now, and were running for the outside door again. It had somehow gotten shut, in all the commotion, so Ian placed a hand on the doorknob. He didn't go any farther though. Suddenly, the ground was shaking and it was coming from outside of the lab. Ian looked at Ellie, as if to ask her what to do. As he was looking at her, he heard that same strange vocal noise. The lone Dilophosaurus growled, hooted, and then spit at them, from across the room. The black substance hit the door, just above where Ian's hand was. 

Startled, Ian opened the door and began to make a run for it. As he left the building, he thought he heard Ellie say something, but he couldn't quite make it out. His momentum carried him outside, where he unintentionally spotted the source of the shaking. It was the Tyrannosaurus Rex., and it was walking very close to the lab, trying to track which way the two Raptors had gone. It instantly saw Ian, as he ran outside.

Ellie hadn't followed Ian outside. She had seen the T-Rex, through the door, when Ian had opened it. She yelled for him to stop, but he must not have heard her. He ran right out there, and just about right into the path of the T-Rex. Ellie reached for him, and managed to grab one of his arms, pulling him back inside the lab. Both of them were relieved, once again, as the T-Rex let out a majestic roar, just outside of the door.

Their happiness didn't last long. The lone Dilophosaurus was still in the room and was still spitting at them. Ellie quickly looked around for something to throw at the dinosaur. She found something suitable, a row of oxygen tanks nearby. She grabbed one and was surprised at just how heavy it was. She turned toward the Dilophosaurus and pitched the tank at it, hitting it right in the head. Ian, thinking the tanks were a good idea, started looking for a fire extinguisher. He found one rather quickly, and sprayed it at the Dilophosaurus. The first attack, with the oxygen tank, had dazed it. The second attack, with the fire extinguisher, had blinded it temporarily.

Ian and Ellie were able to get past the dinosaur, and run down the hallway, toward the middle section of the lab. They knew that the other dinosaurs had also gone this way, but the alternative was the T-Rex, and that was hardly an alternative.


	25. Chapter 25: Getting Reacquainted With O...

_Chapter 25: Getting Re-acquainted With Old Friends _

  


Tim and Lex had made their way out of the Herbivore Paddock, and had gone into the building they had seen. They had been inside, exploring, for about an hour. There was power, because it was quite cool in the building, but there were no lights turned on. They came upon a very large room that had dozens of clothing racks, along with some cash registers, in it. It was some sort of gift shop, where the "visitors" could buy Isla Norte merchandise. Tim closed the door behind him, as he looked around. He found a water fountain, and basically attacked it, since he hadn't had food or water for a while. Lex noticed Tim running at something. When she realized what it was, she ran over to the water fountain, too. They took turns drinking the ice cold water for several minutes. When she finally had enough water, Lex walked up to one of the clothing racks and looked through some of the T-shirts. She laughed, while reading some of them.

"Isla Norte-Biological Preserve. Island of Interesting Sights and Sounds. Isla Norte-Where Man Meets Up With The Past. Norte-Where Man and Pre-History Collide. Visit Isla Norte-You'll See Things Never Seen Before By Man."

Tim walked over to her and laughed, as well.

"Do they have one that says 'Isla Norte-Where You Run For Your Life From Man Eating Dinosaurs'?"

"I'm not seeing one, sorry," Lex said, laughing.

As they carefully walked across the gift shop, Tim noticed that there were large double doors across the way, on the other side. They were closed. There were no light switches anywhere, that Tim could find, so the room was still quite dark. He motioned Lex to go in the direction of the double doors. She nodded and walked toward them. Tim was just about to follow her when . . . WHAM!

The large door that Tim had just shut behind him, suddenly flew open! Tim let out a very loud scream, while Lex just dove down behind a nearby check out area. Tim glimpsed a figure coming straight for him. A extremely fast moving figure. Tim suddenly realized, to his relief, that it was a man - not a carnivorous dinosaur. The man wasn't looking in Tim's direction, though. He had been looking back at the door, and ran right into Tim, knocking him down to the concrete floor. Tim and the man came crashing down with a giant thud. Tim looked up at the man and thought he looked vaguely familiar.

When something ran into the room and knocked Tim down, Lex took cover and started to search for a weapon. She found one. It was a part of one of the metal clothing racks. It was pretty big and a little awkward to swing around, but she managed. She started to run toward the man that tackled her brother. She figured it was Bodan.

Tim was finally able to recognize the man. It wasn't Bodan, like he had guessed, too. It was Alan Grant! But how and why he was here was a mystery.

Alan started to get up and apologize, but as he rose to his feet, Lex attacked him from behind. He fell right back to the ground, as he was struck in the head by the metal rack. He had his back to Lex, as she prepared for another attack. After a few moments to get his bearings back, he tried to turn over. As he did, he quickly had to get out of the way of approaching metal rack. It came crashing down next to his ribs, just missing him. He put his hands up, in a surrendering gesture.

"I give up. I give up!" He shouted.

He finished turning over and looked in the direction of his attacker. He saw that it was a young woman, but he didn't know who it was yet.

Lex stood over him, yelling at the man to leave her brother alone. She was on her third swing, when she finally saw whom she was attacking.

"Dr. Grant? Oh, my God! I thought you were someone else! Dr. Grant? Dr. Grant? Are you okay? Dr. Grant?" Lex yelled, as she threw the clothing rack to the floor.

Alan peered up at his attacker. His head was spinning. He was very lucky that it wasn't a direct hit to his head, as he could have been killed. He couldn't quite focus on the figure hoovering over him, ranting on and on and on. Then Lex came into focus.

"I guess you're not happy to see me?" Alan said slowly.

"Of course I'm happy to see you. I am so sorry. Are you okay?" She asked again.

Lex helped Alan to his feet. His head was beginning to clear now, as the dizziness passed. He noticed how much older and mature she looked. She must have been in her twenties by now.

Lex was beyond happy to see him. She immediately began to feel relieved. Not only did they run into an adult, but they ran into the adult she had longed to see more than anyone. Now she was positive about getting off the island alive.

"I think I'm all right. Really. Just a little bump on the head, that's all," Alan said.

Tim was equally happy to see Alan. He had just been sitting on the floor, staring at him, since Lex had attacked him. He noticed some blood on the back of Alan's head. He stood up and joined in on the conversation.

"It looks like more than just a little bump to me. You're bleeding," Tim said.

Alan reached around and touched the back of his head. He was bleeding, but mostly from the previous blow to the head . . . not Lex's attack.

Lex frowned, as she thought about how she could have possibly killed him. She couldn't bring herself to look at him again. She looked down at the floor, in embarrassment.

"Lex, it's okay. I was already bleeding before I ran into this room. Someone else had already attacked me."

"Bodan?" Tim asked.

Alan looked at Tim.

"Yeah, Bodan. Well, Bodan and his henchman, Smith. Neither of them was very pleasant to me," Alan said.

"We've met Bodan, too," Tim said. "Lex cut his face and we were able to get away from him."

Alan was stunned that Lex could do a thing like that. He was impressed.

"So you're the reason for that bandage that was on his face?" Alan asked.

Lex didn't answer. She was still looking down.

"Lex? What's wrong?" Alan asked softly, rubbing the back of his head.

"I could have killed you," she said, finally looking up at him.

Alan smiled. He took several steps in her direction.

"Well, you didn't. So don't worry about it, okay?" Alan asked.

Lex still didn't feel very good about attacking him. The longer she stood there, the more regretful she felt.

"Let's just get this behind us," Alan said. "I'm all right." He took a good look at them. "It's really good to see both of you. I just wish it was under different circumstances."

"Yeah, like maybe a dinner or something," Tim said.

Alan smiled. He looked over at Lex and noticed that she wasn't smiling. She had taken a few more steps toward him, though. There wasn't a whole lot of distance between them now.

"Come here," Alan said, holding his arms out.

Lex quickly went to his awaiting arms. He embraced her. She felt so completely safe. All the things she was remembering earlier to calm herself down, rushed back into her mind, as Alan held her. The one person she wished was here with her, was now here with her. And to make it even better, he was gently rocking her back and forth. She really felt like he had forgiven her for almost killing him. She stood there, in his arms, wishing the moment could last forever.

Now that they were all calm, Alan looked over at Tim. The boy was all grown up now, and it looked like he was about as tall as himself. He was wearing black pants and a white buttoned down shirt, each of which were battered and torn. He was sporting his hair a little longer, than when he was a kid. It was very messy, but it looked like Tim still combed it to the side. Alan let Lex go, and looked her over, as well. She was wearing black pants, and some sort of dressy shirt, that was now torn in several places, with blood splattered across it. Her hair was long and flowing, just past her shoulders. She was a very beautiful young lady.

"You two look like you've been holding your own fairly well," Alan said.

"Barely," Tim commented.

"How old are the two of you now?" Alan asked.

"I'm 18. I just graduated . . . about 2 days ago . . . in these very clothes actually," Tim said, laughing. "Well, congratulations," Alan said.

"Thanks."

Alan looked at Lex.

"Tim's 18, so that makes you, what? Twenty-something?"

"Twenty-two," she said.

Alan laughed.

"Wow. Where did the time go? I turn my back for a minute, and the two of you become adults," Alan said, smiling.

Lex smiled back. She still thought he was handsome. He was her first crush. Alan Grant would always hold a place in her heart. He saved her life, after all. Several times.

Tim burst into her thoughts.

"Hey, Alan, what are you doing here?" He asked.

Alan started to walk around all the merchandise racks, trying to get a feel for his surroundings.

"Oh, that. Well, I was talked into going on another one of your Grandfather's missions. Right before we were supposed to leave, we found out that you and Lex were taken. Along with my cousin Jodie."

"Your cousin is here, too?" Lex asked.

"Yeah. I found her once, but then Bodan found us and knocked me out. I haven't been able to find her again."

As Alan was looking around, he spotted the water fountain. He went in that direction. Tim watched Alan walk away, then he looked at Lex..

"Seems you get hit in the head a lot," Tim commented to Alan, as he grinned at his sister.

"Shut up, Tim," Lex said.

Alan laughed. He reached the water fountain and took several big gulps of ice cold water, instantly feeling better. The heat had taken a toll on him outside. He was extremely happy to be in an air conditioned building, complete with an ice cold water fountain.

Tim had wondered into the candy isle of the giant room. He stuffed his pockets with whatever he could find and Lex did the same. Tim called out to Alan, and when he looked, threw a candy bar his way. He caught it and ripped into it, as if he hadn't eaten in weeks.

"Thanks," Alan said.

"So, when did you see Jodie last?" Tim asked.

"I think it's only been a few hours. I was unconscious, though, so I don't really know. I assume that Bodan took her with him. I was going to follow the jeep tracks, but then a Tyrannosaurus Rex had other plans for me," Alan said.

"A T-Rex?" Lex repeated.

"Yeah, it tried to follow me into this building."

Alan shivered, as he thought about the chase that almost ended badly.

"Wow," Tim said. "We're lucky that it didn't figure out a way to crush the building."

"So, what did my Grandpa want you to do?" Lex asked.

"Well, I was part of a small team that was supposed to go to an island owned by Biosyn. An island with offices only. We were supposed to get some information from the computers."

"And?" Lex said, knowing that her Grandfather never gave all of the necessary details.

"And then we came here instead, to rescue you, Tim, and Jodie. Only what I didn't know, was that the offices were on the same island. On the right portion of this island. There are two bridges connecting the two portions, so your Grandfather had told me that the island with computers was a separate island. He made it sound like there were two totally separate islands."

Lex was angry with her Grandfather.

"Well, isn't he the clever one? Lying to the only people who would actually care about his sorry butt."

For some reason, Alan felt the need to defend Hammond.

"Well, he didn't actually lie. He just didn't provide all the details, as usual," he said.

"Alan?" Tim asked, interrupting them.

"Yeah?"

"What were you running from?" Tim asked.

"Oh, that. It don't know. I thought I heard something back there. Must have been the T-Rex trying to get in, that's all."

Alan went back towards the door he had just ran through. He carefully looked through the door. There was nothing there and he was relieved, as he was almost sure that the sounds were coming from inside the building. The fact that he hadn't run into anything, gave him reason to believe that it must have been the T-Rex, trying to find another way inside. Still, the noises had gotten him so spooked, that he had started running through every door he came to. Then, he had literally run into Tim . . . and Lex.

Lex was getting slightly alarmed. Something about Alan's voice didn't seem right. It was like he was hiding something. She felt like she needed more of an explanation.

"You really didn't see anything?" She asked. "Because you're starting to scare me a little bit."

"Lex, don't worry, everything is fine," he pointed at the double doors. "You guys been through there, yet?"

Tim and Lex both shook their heads no.

"Well, let's just keep on going in this direction, okay?"

The three of them went over to the other side of the room, and reached the double doors. Alan carefully peered through one of the doors. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary, so he motioned the kids to follow him.

Now, they were well into the hallway. To the right, a dead end. To the left, a long hallway, then a door. Alan started to walk down the hallway to the left. He headed for the door over on that side, looking around as he did so.

Tim and Lex were looking around, too. In front of them, along the whole outside edge of the wall, there were gigantic crates lined up all the way to the ceiling. In between the crates were a few rather large cages. Tim thought that a human adult could easily fit into one of those.

Tim went closer to the crates to inspect them. Lex was right behind her brother, as he reached out and touched one of them. The tiny bit of force that Tim used was enough to topple over the crate. And then another, and then another. Like a chain reaction, all the crates fell to the floor one after another. As the first one started to fall, Tim quickly moved out of the way. He jumped so fast, he lost his balance and fell to the floor. Lex wasn't so lucky. The crate caught her leg, as she tried to dodge it. It landed on her leg and buried it up to her knee. She screamed out in pain. She tried pulling her leg out, but the crate was too heavy.

Alan, who was almost to the door on the other side, ran quickly toward the two kids, just missing getting hit by the array of falling crates. He got there just as Tim got to his feet. Alan tried lifting the giant crate off of Lex, but it was too heavy, even for him. Together, with all their might, Alan and Tim managed to pick up the crate and Lex was able to get her leg out. When she was clear of the crate, Alan and Tim let it go. It fell back to the ground with a very powerful thud.

"Lex, you okay?" Alan asked frantically. "Hey, you okay?"

Lex just sat there, on the brink of crying. Her leg was throbbing, but she didn't think it was broken. She could wriggle her toes, so that was a good sign. She forced herself into not crying. She wasn't a baby any longer and she wasn't going to let her emotions pour out. She looked up at her brother, and then at Alan.

"Yeah . . . I'm . . . I'm okay, guys," Lex said. "I saw that thing coming at me and thought I was going to be flattened. I'm okay, really. You think one of you could help me up, instead of just staring?"

"Oh . . . yeah," Tim and Alan said simultaneously.

Alan held out his hand to Lex and she took it. He pulled her up close to him, while she placed her right arm around his neck. Alan started to walk with her, to see if she could put weight on her leg. She didn't seem to be able to walk very well.

"Come on Lex, I think you can walk on your own. It's not like you're dying or something," Tim said sarcastically, very aware of how his sister was hanging all over Dr. Grant. Not again.

"Oh, yeah, Timmy. Sure. It only hurts when I WALK, you idiot!"

That was the second time she had called him Timmy, and he was fed up with it.

"Hey! Don't call me Timmy," he yelled at her.

"I can if I want to. It's a free country, you idiot!" Lex yelled.

"Come on guys, let's not fight," Alan managed to say.

He was able to get a few words in during the sibling scuffle. Tim and Lex were fighting, just like they did when they were children. Alan had been baffled by it back then, and he still was now. He helped Lex get to the door that was at the end of the hallway. She was leaning on him pretty heavily. It seemed to him that she was seriously hurt, so he couldn't figure out why Tim was so mad. Kids. They're a very strange breed indeed, he thought. Then he corrected himself. Young adults. Another strange breed, with a whole new set of problems to deal with.

The three of them got to the door. It was a different kind of door than the others. It was a very wide door, a little shorter, and very heavy. Alan tried to open it with his free hand, but couldn't.

"Tim, could you open the door for me please?" Alan asked. "I got my hands full here."

"Yeah, I'll say you do. Just drop her. She's being a baby."

Lex had enough from that brother of hers now.

"Tim, you better shut up, or I'll make you shut up."

Alan gave them both a look of disappointment. He was just about to yell at the two of them, when Tim opened, and then pushed the large door forward. Tim pushed until the door wouldn't go any further. It stopped up against the side wall. When he let it go, it came back toward him. It was spring loaded. He pushed it back into the room again, and held it there, letting Alan and Lex enter the room. Alan noticed it looked like the room was air tight, the door was used to seal the room shut. As he looked inside, his mood became very serious. The kids saw his gaze and stopped fighting.

The room they were walking into now was very tiny. There was another door straight across from them only about 20 feet away or so. There were a few of those same crates from the previous room here too, plus one of those cages. In addition, there was a hole in the ceiling tile, right above their heads.

Alan helped Lex through the door and across the tiny room. Tim was behind them. Alan and Lex got to the door on the other side. Alan opened it slowly. It was a very noisy door. It seemed to be needing a little oil. As Alan opened the door, Tim let the other door go, allowing the springs to draw the door back to the closed position.

When the three of them had first entered this tiny room, there was something hidden in the corner. After a slight mishap, it had found itself stuck in the tiny air tight room. When Tim opened the wide door and pushed it toward the wall, the beast was concealed behind the door. Because of the room being air tight, it didn't hear the children fighting before. But now, the noisy door that was opening across the tiny room, alerted it.

Lex was the first one to see the thing, as it was now exposed, after the door had shut. It shrieked at the humans. She screamed. Alan quickly turned around to see a Velociraptor. It was full size and very angry. He figured it must have accidently been locked up in here, since the doors were spring loaded. It was tucked up against the wall and was now rolling itself out from the wall onto the concrete floor. It jumped out at them with amazing speed.

Alan still had the other door held open. With a firm hold on Lex, he started to run out of the room. Tim was right behind them. Tim let the door go, as he passed through, hoping that would slow the Raptor down some. It didn't help. The Raptor just plowed right through the spring loaded door before it had the chance to shut. It wasn't about to get stuck in that tiny room again. It hurried after its prey, sizing them up. After a quick inspection, it decided on the one that was wounded and limping.

As the three of them ran from the room, there were two ways to go. Left and right. Alan chose the left and Tim ran to the right.

Alan and Lex didn't get far. They took about 8 running steps and almost immediately came upon a dead end. Alan turned around and saw that Tim was well on his way down the long hallway and that the Raptor was not following Tim. The Raptor was standing in the hallway, looking directly at them. It wasn't moving, just staring.

"Oh God," Lex whispered to Alan. "It's after me, I'm the wounded one."

"Well, it's not getting you without a fight," Alan challenged.

He put Lex behind him and started to take a small step backward, away from the Raptor. The Raptor stood up on its hind legs and let out a cry. This scared Alan a little bit. He backed up even more. Lex was behind Alan, holding onto him, hoping that he would somehow get them out of this. The last time she and Alan were surrounded by Raptors, the good ole T-Rex had saved the day. She didn't think that would happen again, since the hallway they were in wasn't big enough for such a large predator.

The Raptor came back down from its high stance and slowly began to move toward Alan and Lex, in a very meticulous way. Alan really didn't have a clue of what to do. He remembered talking to the Raptors, back on Isla Sorna, years before. But without the resonating chamber to help him out, that wasn't going to work. He had to think of something quick. 

"Lex, let go for a minute, I've got an idea," 

Alan waited for Lex to let go and made sure she was balanced up against the dead-end wall. He tried an aggressive approach to the situation. He moved his arms around and took a few quick steps toward the Raptor, yelling as he did so.

The Raptor was slightly taken aback by the human's strange movements. Humans usually cowered when face to face with the 6-foot carnivore. The Raptor took one step back.

Alan couldn't believe it. He was actually driving the Raptor back. The victory didn't last long, though. To Alan's horror, the Raptor didn't take any more steps back. Instead, it took a leap forward and lunged toward Alan with its toe claw aimed at his upper body. He was very close to the Raptor, as it jumped. He was sure it would connect with him. He started moving backwards with his eyes closed, waiting for the inevitable.

Lex was still up against the wall. When she saw the Raptor leap toward Alan, she pushed herself off the wall, grabbed the back of his shirt, and pulled as hard as she could.

With his eyes closed, Alan felt a sudden tug from behind him. Lex had pulled so hard, Alan fell backwards onto the floor. As he was falling, the Raptor had reached him. It buried its razor sharp claw into his left shoulder and fell down with him.

Lex tried to limp back to the wall, but Alan and the Raptor knocked her over. She fell down and quickly crawled toward the dead-end wall, looking back to check on Alan. If Lex hadn't pulled him, the Raptor might have killed him instantly. Now the Raptor had missed its mark and had settled for his shoulder. She saw him on the ground, both he and the Raptor slightly dazed. She heard him scream in agony, and then she saw the Raptor slash out at him with the other foot. It missed its mark, as Alan moved his head, wincing as he did so. The Raptor opened its mouth and bent down to silence its prey. Using her good leg, Lex kicked at its head. It lifted back up, long enough for Alan to reach out with his right arm and push its head back. He had never, in his life, actually touched a live Raptor before. He continued to wrestle with it, the best he could.

Alan was still struggling with the Raptor, when Tim showed up. He had ran back into the merchandising room and grabbed the metal clothing rack. He came up behind the Raptor and struck it, as hard as he could, hitting it in its back. It hardly did anything to distract the Raptor. It only succeeded in helping the Raptor push its claw further into Alan's shoulder. Alan screamed again. This time, Lex could see blood coming out from under him. She started to panic. She didn't want Alan to be hacked up into pieces, and especially not right in front of her.

"Hit it again, Tim! In the head. Hit it hard. Really Hard!"

Tim wound up and swung the rack at the Raptor's head, hitting it directly on the back of its head. This time he got the Raptor's attention! It pulled its claw out of Alan, making him wail in pain once again. It turned around and looked at its new adversary.

Tim held his own against the Raptor . . . for a little while. As Tim fought off the Raptor, Lex quietly crawled to Alan, trying to help him.

"Dr. Grant, are you all right? Alan?"

Alan was feeling a bit woozy. There was blood everywhere and his shoulder was still bleeding heavily.

"I . . . I'm not sure . . . I . . . I don't think so."

Lex helped him sit up on the floor. She ripped a part of her shirt sleeve off and pushed it into his wound. He winced in pain. She saw how much pain he was in, but couldn't do a thing about it at the moment. The two of them sat on the floor for a few seconds, then Lex turned her attention toward Tim.

The Raptor had backed Tim up almost all the way to the far side of the long hallway. Lex noticed that Tim was still swinging the metal clothing rack at the Raptor. It was working for now, but she knew she had to figure out a way to help him, and fast. She looked around quickly, trying to think of something to do.

Alan was leaning against the dead-end wall, with his head slightly turned up. He noticed the crates high above them. He looked up and followed the crates with his eyes. They were lined up, all the way down the hallway. All the way to where Tim was. If Lex could somehow knock one down, it might be able to start another chain reaction in there.

"Lex, can you get up?" He asked.

"I think so," she said.

He pointed up with his good arm.

"Try and knock one of these crates down."

Lex moved into a position where she would be able to get up. Her leg was really throbbing. Alan helped her the best that he could, but he felt like he was about to pass out. Lex began to panic again, but then stopped herself. She had to help save her brother.

Lex put her back up against the dead-end wall, and then used it to help herself rise up. When she was on her feet, she looked up at the crates. She tried reaching for one, but it was up too far. She jumped for it and missed it. When she landed back on the floor, she screamed in agony. Her leg hit the floor just right, making her feel like passing out herself. Tears were streaming down her face, as she was about to jump again.

Alan looked up at her. He could see how much pain she was in and how determined she was. His entire upper body, on the left side, was starting to feel numb. He began to feel like he was floating away. He guessed that the only way he was awake right now, was because his body was in shock.

"Lex, wait," he said.

Tim was all the way back against the far door now. He was still swinging at the Raptor, but he was getting tired. The Raptor was barely moving now, just watching and waiting for this human to tire itself out.

Lex looked down at Alan.

"Help me over to the other wall and I'll boost you up," he said.

Lex didn't think that would work. Alan was way too weak for that. She looked back at Tim, watching him try and defend himself against the Raptor. It was snapping at him now, almost playing with him. She realized that Tim didn't have much longer.

"Okay."

Alan held out his right arm and Lex grabbed it. Holding his arm tightly, and with his help, she dragged Alan over to the other wall. He winced and grunted, as she pulled. She situated him right below the first crate. He looked up and motioned for her to come. He held onto her and pushed her up and over his head. Lex heard his groans, as he lifted her. She put her good leg on his good shoulder to balance herself. She knew he couldn't hold her for very long. She reached up and with a quick shove, managed to knock the crate down!

The crate came crashing down next to Alan and Lex, just missing them. Alan helped her down and the two of them went back to the dead-end wall for cover. Lex was in the front, and Alan was shielding her with his good arm.

The crates came crashing down, one at a time, just as Alan had hoped. He watched as the falling crates keep getting closer and closer to where Tim and the Raptor were.

Tim was about to give up. He couldn't hold his arms up anymore. He was totally exhausted. The Raptor saw this, and came in for the kill. Tim just threw the metal clothes rack at the beast and closed his eyes. 

Suddenly, he heard a succession of very loud thumps hitting the concrete floor. Tim opened his eyes, just in time to see the last crate come crashing down on the Raptor, which was directly in front of him.

"Oh, my God, it worked! It really worked!" Lex yelled.

She got up from the corner and half-hopped over toward Tim, on the other side. She was too happy to worry about the pain in her leg. She reached him.

"Tim, you okay?"

Tim was still standing there in disbelief. He was prepared to die just a few seconds ago, and now he was safe and sound, talking to his sister. She hugged him.

"Yeah, I think I am. Good idea, using the crates," he managed to say.

"Thanks. It was Alan's idea really. Right, Alan?"

Tim and Lex looked back across the hallway. Alan was still in the corner, sitting there where Lex had left him minutes earlier. He wasn't moving.


	26. Chapter 26: Envoy's Announcement

_Chapter 26: Envoy's Announcement_

  


Patrick Bodan was standing outside of the Main Control Room, smoking, yet again. Jacob walked outside and joined him.

"What is it?" Jacob asked.

"I received a call from Mr. Envoy this afternoon. He wanted an update on the whole Tim, Lex and Jodie thing," Bodan said.

"So what did you tell him?"

Jacob felt bad for how things had turned out for Bodan. But not that bad. He was hoping that Envoy would see the error of his ways, and appoint him the new leader.

"I told him there were some slight problems."

"Slight? You call the power failing and the Raptors, almost all of the Raptors, escaping, a slight problem?"

Bodan turned to Jacob and threw his cigarette to the ground, smashing it out with his foot.

"Look. I don't think Mr. Envoy needs to know all the details right now."

"Well, he's going to know soon enough," Jacob said.

"Sooner than you think," Bodan said under his breath.

"What?"

"Mr. Envoy is coming here, today. He announced to me that he'll be here in about 3 hours."

Jacob held back his happiness. He didn't want Bodan to know just how happy he was, that the boss was going to see what Bodan had managed to do, in only a few days. He continued to talk to Bodan in a serious tone.

"So, are you going to tell him about Grant?"

"What about Grant?"

"That he's here . . . on the island. And that you had a T-Rex hunt him down and kill him."

"Oh, that," Bodan said, grinning. "The T-Rex getting out was an unfortunate mistake, Jacob."

"A mistake? Oh, I see. So, that's how we're going to play that?"

Jacob would make sure that Envoy would know what happened out there today. He would have to plan it out very carefully, of course, but Envoy would hear the truth. Plus, he had Daniel to back up his story, and he knew how Envoy felt about Daniel. Daniel was Envoy's little "Mr. Do-No-Wrong".

Bodan walked closer to Jacob.

"That's our story, Jacob. The T-Rex getting out was an accident, and it forced us to leave Dr. Grant to fend for himself. Unfortunately for him, he didn't fend very well, that's all. End of story."

"Whatever you say," Jacob said.

From inside the building, they could hear Daniel shout.

"Mr. Bodan! Good news, sir!"

Bodan ran into the Main Control Center. After a few seconds, Jacob tossed his cigarette, and joined him. When Daniel saw that he had their full attention, he began to speak.

"Okay, I was able to get a few more cameras online."

"How?" Bodan asked.

"It's very technical, sir. The point is . . . we can now see into a part of the mall, and into the middle section of the lab."

Bodan wasn't following and Daniel could see that. He tried to guess what Bodan's next question would be, and answered it, before Bodan became irate.

"Sir, we should be able to track the Raptors this way. I have reason to believe they must have scattered in one of those directions. Or possibly both."

"And we should be able to see what happened in the lab, with the unidentified escaped dinosaur," Jacob added.

Bodan nodded.

"Okay. This is the plan, for now. Daniel, you stay here. Jacob, get a pilot and get the helicopter up and flying. We need to get that T-Rex put to sleep, and hauled back over into its paddock. I'll take Smith and we'll go investigate this mysterious escaped dinosaur in the lab."

Jacob and Daniel nodded. It was then that Bodan noticed someone was missing.

"Where's Ethan?" 

"He's in Control Room 2, sir. I needed him there to reroute some of the fence power. He told me he was going to stay there. He didn't think it would be smart to be running around while the T-Rex was out in the open."

"Daniel, the Rex is contained on the other portion of the island," Bodan pointed out.

"I told him that, sir. But he is always worried about the unexpected. I think he's being cautious, that's all."

Bodan shook his head. He looked at Jacob.

"Well, when you get that T-Rex contained, let Daniel know, so that Ethan can get his ass back over here, where he's needed."

"Okay," Jacob said.

Bodan looked down at his watch.

"We have exactly 2 hours and 52 minutes to get this island back in order, before Mr. Envoy gets here. So come on people. Let's move!"

Bodan walked out of the building and into the waiting jeep. Smith was the driver. Bodan looked back at Jacob.

"And Jacob, this time . . . let's not have another giant sleeping dinosaur collapse on an important building."

Jacob couldn't help but laugh. He waved Bodan off, and got into another jeep. He started it and drove toward the helipad. He already had the walkie talkie on, telling the pilot to get the helicopter ready.


	27. Chapter 27: Dr Alexis Murphy

_Chapter 27: Dr. Alexis Murphy_

  


Lex limped back across the hallway and reached Alan. Tim was right behind her. As they reached Alan, Tim stopped. The sight of blood all over was making him feel sick. Lex held onto her leg and carefully knelt down next to Alan. His eyes were closed. He looked very pale. She leaned in to check on him.

"Is he all right?" Tim asked.

"Well, he has a pulse. It's very weak and rapid, though. I think he's in shock," Lex answered.

She looked at her torn shirt piece that was on his shoulder. It was completely blood soaked. There was blood on the floor, too. She moved the shirt, to see how bad the Raptor got him.

When she moved it, Alan winced. He opened his eyes.

"Alan?"

He looked at her, but didn't say anything.

"Alan? How do you feel?" Lex asked.

He just stared at her.

"Alan, is your shoulder numb?"

He continued to stare.

She pressed back down on the blood soaked shirt.

He winced.

"How about your fingers? Can you move the fingers on your left hand?" She asked.

He didn't respond. It didn't even really seem like he was looking at her. He seemed to be staring straight through her, like she wasn't even there. She was about to ask him again, when she noticed his fingers moving slowly.

"Okay. Okay, that's good. That's a very good sign."

Tim came up right next to them. Lex noticed that he looked very pale, as well. But for different reasons.

"Tim, I need to stop this bleeding and get him covered up. Could you see if you could find something?" She asked.

"Sure," he said.

Tim made his way back to the room where the Raptor was trapped. He was all too happy to get away from all of that blood. With every passing second, he was feeling more and more sick to his stomach.

Lex looked back at Alan. His eyes were closed again.

"No. Alan? Alan? Wake up, Alan!" She yelled.

He opened his eyes again.

"You're going to be just fine. I'm going to take care of you. I just need to stop the bleeding and you'll be okay."

He just kept on staring. Lex kept on talking, trying to keep him awake and alert.

"I'm a med student. In my third year. You're in good hands," she said in a calm voice.

He nodded. Lex was happy that he did something besides stare at her. Then, he whispered something that she didn't hear.

"What?" She asked.

She leaned over and put her ear right next to his mouth. She heard him this time.

"Thank you," he whispered.

She noticed that his breathing was labored, as well. She tried not to let on that she was overly concerned.

"You're welcome. Besides, I think I owe you at least that much," she said.

He smiled slightly. She smiled back, and then turned to see where Tim was. He hadn't come back yet and she needed to get the bleeding stopped. She cupped her hands over her mouth and shouted to the other room.

"TIM! Find anything yet?" She yelled.

"No, nothing yet," he answered.

Lex looked back at Alan. He was still awake, but he was staring just past her. She followed his gaze. He was looking at the Raptor that was lying unconscious, at the far end of the hallway. Then, she looked past the Raptor, at the door at the far end. She was thinking about checking to see if it was unlocked, when Tim ran back into the room.

"I found something."

He ran over to Lex and Alan. He handed a stack of white T-shirts from the merchandising room to Lex.

"Will these do?" He asked.

"Yeah, I think so," she said.

Lex quickly unfolded a few of the T-shirts and covered Alan up with them, for the shock. She left one of the shirts folded and pressed it against Alan's shoulder. The white shirt quickly turned a dark red.

Alan groaned and winced.

Tim thought that Alan looked very stressed. He looked down at all the blood and suddenly felt queasy again. He needed to excuse himself, before he made things worse by getting sick.

"I . . . I need to get out of here."

Lex looked at him. She totally understood how he felt. In her first year in med school, she had felt that same way.

"Okay. Why don't you see if you can find a first aid kit. There's got to be one in this building somewhere," she said.

Tim nodded and looked at Alan.

"I'll be right back," he said.

Alan nodded at him. Alan and Lex both watched Tim run from the hallway. Lex looked back at Alan. She noticed he still wasn't talking much.

"So, why don't you talk to me a little bit?" She asked.

"I don't want to," he whispered.

Lex laughed.

"Well, that certainly does hurt my feelings," she said.

"Sorry," he said.

Lex noticed how hoarse his voice sounded. She needed to get him some help. She really needed a first aid kit. She looked back toward the door that was down the long hallway again.

"Alan, I'm going to go check on that door over there," she said, pointing. "If it's unlocked, there might be a first aid kit in that next room."

Alan nodded.

"Okay, I need you to hold this T-shirt on your shoulder for me," she said.

He did what she told him. She noticed he moved very slowly. Using the wall for help, she got herself back to her feet. Her leg was really throbbing now, but she couldn't be bothered by that at the moment. She had to get Alan some help. She began to limp toward the far end of the hallway. After a few steps, she heard Alan call her name. She turned around.

"Be careful," he whispered.

"I will," she answered.

She turned around and continued to limp down the hallway, navigating around all the fallen crates. She made it all the way to where the Raptor was and stopped for a minute. She looked at it. It was still unconscious. She could see it breathing and suddenly it began to creep her out. She slowly made her way past it and reached the door. She placed her hand on the doorknob . . . and turned it. It was unlocked. She took a deep breath, as she looked back at Alan. He was still awake, which was a good thing. She turned her attention back to the door. She pushed it open slowly. The room beyond the door was very dark. She couldn't see into it, so she took a few steps into the room. As she was about to feel around the wall for a light switch, she heard a noise. Her first thought was that it was another dinosaur, but she relaxed a little bit, when she heard crying.

"Hello?"

"Hello?" A voice asked from inside the dark room. It was a female voice.

The person, belonging to the voice, came out into the light, so that Lex could see her. Lex guessed who she was.

"Jodie Grant?"

Jodie nodded. Lex smiled.

"Alan is right in here. Come on, I'll show you," Lex said, gesturing toward Alan, in the next room.

Jodie perked up immediately. She followed Lex and saw Alan across the long hallway, leaning up against the wall. Lex closed the door and motioned for Jodie to go. When she saw him, Jodie smiled at first, but her smile faded, the closer she got to him. There was blood all around him.

"What happened?" Jodie asked Lex.

They were just moving past the Raptor that lay unconsciousness in the floor, under the crates. Lex pointed to it.

"Velociraptor. It jumped at him and sank its claw into him."

Jodie shivered, as they walked closer. They were about half way to Alan, when Tim ran into the room, startling them.

"I found a first aid kit!" He yelled, as he ran back into the hallway from the other side.

Lex instinctively jumped back several steps when he yelled out. Jodie just moved against the wall, in a defensive posture. Lex was breathing very heavily by now, as she looked back at Tim.

"You scared the hell out of me!" She yelled.

In all the commotion, Jodie hadn't quite figured out who the other two people were.

"Tim and Lex, right?" She asked.

Tim nodded.

"That would be us . . . and you are?"

"Jodie."

"Pleased to meet you, Jodie," Tim said. Then he looked at his sister. "Sorry about giving you a heart attack."

He walked toward Lex and Jodie, with what looked like a medium sized toolbox in his hand. Lex was puzzled.

"What did you find?" She asked, as she limped toward her brother.

"It's a first aid kit. I know it doesn't look like one. I looked inside and found all sorts of medical things in it," he answered.

"That's great," Lex said. "Now we can help him properly."

She limped to Alan and carefully sat down next to him. He was still leaning up against the wall. Tim put the first aid kit box down, next to her. She opened it up. Everything she thought she might need, seemed to be in it. Jodie sat down on the other side of Alan and grabbed his right hand. Alan looked at her.

"Hey, Jodie," he whispered. "How ya doing?"

Jodie smiled, even though she was scared to death. She didn't want to alarm him.

"I'm good. You don't look too good, though."

Alan smiled.

"See what happens when you leave me to my own devices?"

Jodie laughed and relaxed next to him, still holding his hand. Lex looked up from the first aid kit, and looked at Alan.

"Okay, let's get that laceration cleaned up," she said.

Alan nodded.

Lex began to run all the medical procedures through her mind. Wound care had three basic steps: Cleansing the wound, cleansing the skin around the wound, and protecting the wound from further contamination. She took the necessary supplies out of the box. She was ready to begin, but first she needed to cleanse her own hands. She took a cleansing pad and used it on her own hands. Then, she grabbed the small scissors and cut Alan's shirt, so that the entire wound was exposed. He moved a little, clearly uncomfortable. She grabbed another cleansing pad and looked at Alan.

"This is probably going to hurt," she said, trying to be honest.

He nodded.

She placed the cleansing pad on the wound. Alan instantly began to wince and yell in pain, moving around as he did so. His grip tightened on Jodie's hand.

"Tim! I need some help here. Hold him. Don't let him move," Lex said.

Tim bent down and did what he was told. He looked at Alan and saw how truly unhappy he looked.

"Lex, you sure you know what you're doing?" He asked.

Alan managed to laugh a little bit.

"Yeah, you sure you know what you're doing?" He echoed.

Lex gave them both a stern and serious look.

"Of course I do. Don't worry," she said. She looked at Alan. "Now, don't move," she commanded.

Lex finished cleaning up the wound itself, so then she cleaned the area around the wound with antiseptic solution. Now that it was clean, it was easier to see the damage that was done by the Raptor. The laceration was about 2 inches long and very deep. Upon closer examination, she noticed that the gaping hole revealed some of the underlying tissues. She frowned.

"You need stitches," she said.

Alan frowned, too.

She took a clean cloth from the box and pressed it into his shoulder, to stop the bleeding that was still occurring. She rummaged through the first aid box and was able to find the necessary supplies she needed for the new task at hand. She was very impressed with how this first aid kit was equipped.

"I think everything that I need, is here." She said.

Alan sat there quietly and watched her go through the box.

"Have you done this before?" He asked. His voice was still like a whisper.

Lex thought the question over.

"Well, yes . . . and, no," she said.

"You think you could elaborate?" He asked.

She noticed he was talking more now. He must have been coming out of shock. Soon his pain would get even worse. She needed to suture him up as soon as possible.

"Well, I've been tested on the proper procedures. I passed. I've practiced on pigs feet," she said.

Tim started to turn pale again. Alan smiled at him, and then looked back at Lex.

"Well, then. I guess that's good enough for me," he said.

She smiled at him. She grabbed tweezers, hemostats, medical scissors, a small hooked needle, and the sutures from the box. She placed them all in an orderly fashion on the floor. As she looked over the inventory, she noticed something missing. There was nothing in the box to numb the wound.

"Tim, did anything fall out of the box when you opened it?" She asked.

"I don't think so," he said.

"Could you go back to where you found it, and check?" She asked.

"Sure."

Tim got up and walked out of the hallway. Lex looked over at the Raptor again, and then she looked at Alan.

"What are the chances that it will wake up?" She asked him, motioning to the Raptor.

"Hopefully, not good. Was it breathing when you went past it?"

"Yeah. It was very creepy," she said.

"I hope there isn't more of them in this building," Jodie wandered out loud.

Tim walked back into the room. Lex looked at him with hope in her eyes, but he shook his head.

"Nothing," he said.

"Damn," Lex said under her breath.

"What's missing?" Tim asked.

"The numbing agent. I don't have a way to numb the wound," she answered.

Alan thought about it for a second.

"Just stitch it up without numbing it," he said.

Tim wasn't handling any of this very well.

"Oh, God. Are you sure you want to do that?" Tim asked Alan.

"I wouldn't want to do that," Jodie said, echoing Tim's thoughts.

"It's going to hurt a lot more than that cleaning just did," Lex added.

"Well, I know I don't want to be here when that Raptor wakes up. I think he might hurt me more than you can," Alan said.

"Good point," Lex said.

She looked back at all of her supplies, spread out neatly on a cloth. She grabbed some pills and a small bottle of water from the box.

"Here. Take two of these," she said to Alan.

"What are they?" He asked, as he held out his hand.

"Darvocet. It'll help with the pain," she said.

She handed the small bottle of water to him. She noticed that he had a little difficultly taking the pills, but he managed. He handed the water back to her and she put it down. She took the small bottle of pills and stuffed them in a pocket, for later.

"Okay, I'm ready. Are you?" She asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be," he answered.

She nodded and picked up the sutures and threaded the first one through the sickle shaped needle. Then she put the needle in the hemostats, and picked up the tweezers. Everything was ready, expect for her leg. It was throbbing really bad now. She adjusted herself, and found a suitable way to sit, so that it wouldn't hurt as much.

She leaned in and prepared to place the first suture. She looked at Tim.

"Okay. I need you to use the scissors and cut each suture when I tell you," she explained.

Tim nodded.

Lex was about to place the first suture, when she noticed how much her hand was shaking. She steadied herself. Then, starting from the right, she placed the first one and tied a secure knot.

Alan had decided on not looking. He had his head up against the wall, turned to the right. When Lex placed the first stitch, it hurt more than he thought it would. He clenched his teeth, though, and tried his best not to move. Jodie continued to hold his hand, as she whispered words of encouragement to him.

Tim cut the first suture perfectly. Lex moved on to the second and third sutures. She kept mumbling something under her breath.

" . . . simple interrupted pattern . . . hold skin up with tweezers . . . knots placed on side of wound . . ."

Tim couldn't quite make out what she was talking about.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing. I'm just playing out the procedure in my head."

She placed the fourth suture. Tim cut it perfectly, once again.

Alan's pain was getting worse. He was knocking his head back and forth, against the wall now. Jodie was getting very worried. Lex noticed, and tried to calm him down.

"Four down, Alan. Only about five to go," she said.

Alan muttered something under his breath.

Lex wasn't sure she wanted to know what it was. She continued on. She placed the fifth and sixth sutures without incident. She and Tim were doing very well, almost falling into a pattern. Lex held up the seventh suture and leaned in to place it. She leaned in a little more than usual, this time. With her leg being hurt, she slightly lost her balance and tilted toward his shoulder, barely pressing against it. The gentle nudge was enough to cause blood to squirt out from the wound. Alan winced.

Tim jumped backwards and landed on the floor. He instantly felt sick again. He got up and ran from the hallway again, holding his hand over his mouth. Jodie would have followed him, but Alan was still holding her hand. He had a very strong grip on it. She settled for just looking down at the floor, and then closing her eyes.

Lex took it all in stride. She leaned down and grabbed another cloth and pressed it up against the wound. She held it there for a few minutes, checking to see if the bleeding had stopped. It finally did. She cleansed the wound, making Alan cry out again. She still had the seventh suture in her hand, so she attempted to place that one again. With Tim gone, she had to put the tweezers down and pick up the scissors that he had dropped. She cut it and went on to the eighth suture.

Alan was running out of ways to cope with the pain. He finally let Jodie's hand go, made a fist, and began to pound it into the concrete floor, while clenching his teeth and grunting. Jodie stayed right by his side, whispering to him.

"It's okay, Alan. You're going to be okay."

Tim was standing in the tiny room where they had found the Raptor. He was bent over, taking in very deep breaths, trying to get himself together. After a few minutes, he felt better. He went back into the hallway.

Lex looked up at him.

"Good. You're just in time. Here. Cut this one, will you?" She asked.

Tim nodded and went over there. He picked the scissors up and cut the eighth suture.

Lex placed the ninth, and final suture. When Tim cut it, she held her hands up in a grand gesture.

"Done."

Alan was very relieved. His body relaxed and he started to breath easier. He looked at Lex.

"Thank you," he said.

Lex nodded. She noticed tears in his eyes. He really did take the whole thing quite well, she thought. She felt bad about having to hurt him though. She adjusted herself and realized that her leg was really hurting now. She lifted her pant leg up and was surprised to see how swelled up her leg was.

She started to panic a little bit.

"Oh, God," she said.

She got all of their attention.

"What is it?" Tim asked.

"My leg. I think it might be broken," she said.

She tried to move it a little bit more, but it felt like she had been in the same position for hours and hours. It wasn't moving like she wanted it to.

"What can I do?" Tim asked.

Lex had been strong for Alan, up to this point. But with him finished up, she was starting to come unraveled.

"I . . .I don't know. I don't know what to do," she said.

Alan had his head up against the wall, trying not to pass out. When he heard the urgency in her voice, he forced himself to look down at her leg. He examined it for a minute, and then pressed down on it in a couple of places.

Lex winced and began to tear up. Alan stopped.

"I don't think it's broken," he said.

"How do you know?" She asked.

She was losing more and more of her composure now. She kept replaying the crate falling on her leg over and over. With every passing second, her leg seemed to throb more and more.

"There's no deformity or bruising. Swelling is very common in sprains. I think it's a sprain," Alan said.

Alan could see that Lex wasn't believing him, so he explained further.

"I broke my leg once. There was a lot of bruising and I could feel a jagged edge where it was broken. You don't have that."

Tim was feeling slightly queasy, once again.

"You guys are making me sick. I'm such a wimp," he said.

Lex ignored her brother. She was starting to feel a little better now, as she got interested in Alan's story.

"How did you break your leg?" She asked.

"Well, I was alone . . . in my jeep, exploring the Badlands. I got lost. My jeep ended up sliding off a cliff and I was thrown from it."

Jodie was very fascinated by what Alan was saying. She never knew of anything, like that, happening to any of her relatives. Most of the family were boring, she thought, as she continued to listen.

Tim was interested now, too. As long as they weren't talking about gory details, he was okay with it.

"How did you get help?" He asked.

"I didn't at first. I had to walk about 2 miles before I found a house, and a nice lady, to call an ambulance for me."

"God," Lex said, frowning.

Alan didn't want to think about that anymore. It was making his leg hurt. In reality, when he was thrown from the jeep, one of the bones in his lower leg protruded right from the skin. He shrugged thinking about how he had to force himself to get up and walk on it.

"Anyway, I don't think your leg is broke."

Lex was looking more like her strong self again. She nodded.

Alan smiled.

"You're going to be okay," he said. He looked at Tim. "Could you see if you can find a splint in that first aid kit?"

"Sure," Tim said.

He began searching through the first aid kit, wondering what a splint might look like. To his happiness, most of the things were labeled. He found one labeled "shin splint" and gave it to his sister.

Lex took it and put it on carefully. Tim helped her with the straps. When it was on, Tim taped the top and bottom straps to secure it. When he did that, Lex suddenly remembered that she didn't quite finish with Alan.

"I need to cover that wound," she said.

Alan frowned. Lex smiled.

"I can't believe that after a story like that, you could be worried about a little bandage," she said.

He slightly smiled.

She grabbed a sterile cloth from the box, placed it on Alan's shoulder, and taped it. When she was finished, she sat back a little bit and stared at him. He looked awful. She had put him through a lot in the last half hour or so.

Alan stared back at her and was thinking the same thing about her. That she looked awful. She looked like she might break down at any moment. He held out his good arm to her, as Jodie moved over.

Lex didn't think about it for very long. She moved close to him and allowed him to embrace her. She rested her head on his right shoulder and closed her eyes.

Tim was, at first, rolling his eyes again. She was hanging all over Alan again. He looked at Jodie.

"She used to have a huge crush on him," he said. Jodie nodded. Tim gestured toward Alan and Lex.. "And I think she still does," he added.

As he watched closer though, he realized that Alan was having a very calming affect on Lex. The more he thought about it, having Alan there with them now, was making him feel better, too. He knew his chances of getting off this island alive were better, with Alan around.

As they were sitting there, Alan began to physically feel a little better. The Darvocet must have started to kick in for him. He was about to ask Tim to see if he could help him up, when he heard a snarling coming from the end of the long hallway.

All of them heard it. They all looked and watched in horror, as the Raptor started to move.


	28. Chapter 28: Updates And Plans

_Chapter 28: Updates and Plans_

  


Daniel was busy checking park security, when he heard Ethan's voice on the walkie talkie. He picked it up.

"Yeah, what is it, Ethan?"

"They get the T-Rex under control yet?"

"Yeah. Jacob just radioed in that it's asleep. They're transferring it now. They found the damned thing all the way by the lab."

"See, I told you! You have to be aware of the unexpected, Daniel. The lab is very, very close to the right portion, you know."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Look, you can come back now."

"Where's Mr. Bodan?"

"On his way to the lab, with Smith."

"The lab? Why?"

"The lab tech, what's his name again?"

Ethan took pride in knowing everyone's name who worked on Isla Norte.

"His name is Norman."

"Yeah, well . . . Norman . . . called us in a panic, saying something had gotten out in the lab. We can't seem to get a hold of him now, so Bodan and Smith went to investigate."

"I hope he's all right," Ethan said.

"I'm sure he is. You know how weekend help is, Ethan. They're not the most highly qualified people in the world."

Ethan didn't respond to that. He just continued with his questions.

"So, did you find the Raptors yet?"

"No. I was able to get two more cameras working. In the mall and in the lab. Only one room each, though."

"That's going to be like finding a needle in a haystack. Those dinosaurs move very swiftly. They might run right past that camera, and you would never know."

"I know that. I'm recording. I'll watch it in hour intervals, until I spot them. Hopefully, they'll go into one of those buildings."

"That's impossible to predict," Ethan said.

Daniel was getting irritated. He had already been chewed out by both Bodan and Jacob, and was growing tired of people second guessing his decision-making skills.

"Just get the hell over here, Ethan."

There was a silence for a few seconds. Then, Ethan finally answered.

"Okay."

Daniel put the walkie talkie back down on the desk, and went back to checking on park security. He suddenly thought of something and picked the walkie talkie up again.

"Ethan?"

"Yeah?"

"Before you leave Control Room 2, could you somehow get the monitors in the lab working? I know that there are only a few cameras working, but it could help Bodan, when he gets there."

"Okay, Daniel," Ethan said, thinking about how long that task might take. "I'll have them up in about 20 minutes."

Daniel looked down at his watch.

"Good enough. And then come back here, when you're done. Mr. Envoy is coming here in less than two and a half hours."

"Envoy is coming here? Why?"

"Never mind that. Just get back here. We've got to get this park under control before he gets here."

"You got it. I'll be there soon."


	29. Chapter 29: Attack Of The Raptors

_Chapter 29: Attack Of The Raptors_

  


For those of you keeping track:

12 raptors total

1 left in paddock

1 caught under crate

2 in lab

8 left in mall area

  


Alan quickly began to move, trying to use the wall to help himself up. Tim and Jodie were helping him, while Lex quickly got up and started to head for the small room the Raptor had been trapped in. She knew she would hold everyone up, so she tried to get a head start.

"Wait! We need to go the other way," Tim said.

Tim and Jodie had managed to get Alan to his feet. Jodie was on his right side, holding him up, and Tim was on Alan's wounded side, being as careful as possible. They all continued to look at the Raptor. It was moving slightly and snarling, as it attempted to get out from under the heavy crate.

"It's not getting up. The crate is holding it down," Tim said.

Lex nodded and changed directions, coming toward the others. As she got away from the door, she heard more high pitched snarling, coming from the other side of the door. Or at least that's where she guessed it was from. She limped quickly to the others, who were about to pass by the Raptor, under the crate.

"There's more Raptors behind that door," she said, pointing in the other direction.

Alan's pain was very much under control, at this point, because of the drugs Lex had given him. He was becoming more clear headed, as time went by, since he didn't have the pain to sidetrack him.

"How could they be behind that door? Both doors are spring loaded," Alan asked.

"I was thinking the same thing," Tim added.

As they were trying to solve the little puzzle, the solution revealed itself. The Raptors weren't on the other side of the door. They were traveling over the top of the air ducts, far above the humans. They had made their way past the tiny sealed up room, and had found the retreating humans in the long hallway. The Raptor, in the lead, dropped down, and fell through the ceiling tiles, landing on the floor awkwardly. The others dropped down through the hole that the first Raptor had made, one at a time.

Lex limped past the Raptor trapped under the crate, and had to move out of the way, as it attempted to slash at her. She had finally made it to everyone else, without further incident. They were all looking past her, so she turned around. She counted the Raptors, in horror, as they continued to jump down from the hole in the ceiling tile. 

"One, two, three . . . holy shit . . . four . . . " Lex said, as she moved backwards, toward Alan and company.

There were five Raptors, in all, when they were finished jumping down. The first one stood up from its fall, and began to walk closer to one of its wounded, the Raptor trapped under the crate. The other four cautiously followed, peering confusingly at the humans.

"Okay, everyone," Alan whispered, "very slowly . . . go through the door."

They all backup up to the door, while the lead Raptor continued toward the trapped Raptor on the floor. Jodie was closest to the door, so she opened it up. The room was still very dark, but she had come from that way, so she had an idea of what was in that direction.

"There's a monorail entrance somewhere on the second floor of this building. Earlier, I saw a sign that said so."

Lex was feeling pretty hopeless at this point. The Raptors were so close to them. The thought of getting on the monorail, and away from the dinosaurs, was very encouraging.

"Maybe, if we're lucky, it'll actually work," she said.

Alan shrugged and looked at Tim. Tim nodded at him.

"It's worth a try. We really don't have another option," Tim said.

Jodie helped Alan across the small room and they made it to the door, which was located to the left. Tim quickly closed the door they had just came from. He looked for a lock, but there wasn't one. Jodie opened up the door on the left, and all four of them went inside to the next, much larger, room. Tim was the last one through this door, too. He shut it and looked for a lock again. This time there was one, so he used it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ellie and Ian were now inside the middle section of the lab. The door that connected the hallway and the middle section was wide open. They had gone inside. There were no signs of the Dilophosaurs or the Raptors. The door going to the third section of the lab was also open. Ellie ran across the room and shut the door. Ian shut the door they had just came from. The two of them stood in the middle of the room, staring at each other. Neither of them could piece together the events that had just transpired in the other room.

"What the hell happened in there?" Ian asked, out of breath.

"I guess it's lucky for us that the Dilophosaurs would rather fight with the Raptors," Ellie said.

"Yeah. And Ellie, thanks for yanking me back to the living."

"You're welcome," Ellie said, smiling.

Ellie looked around the room. There were file cabinets, off to one side and some sort of huge metal rack in the middle of the room. She walked toward the rack and walked around to the other side of it. On the other side, there were several monitors, arranged in a straight line. About 10 of them. They were all turned on, but there was nothing but snow. She walked to them and followed them one by one. As she walked, monitors 1, 4, 5 and 7 flashed on. She was directly in front of monitor 5 and it startled her. As she looked at it, she smiled.

"Ian, come here."

Ian was messing with some file cabinets on the other side, trying to get them open. He wasn't having any luck though. They were all locked and very hard to pick open, so he went over to her quickly. He was about to ask what she wanted, when he saw what she was looking at. Monitor 4 was the inside of the lab. The inside of the middle section, near the file cabinets, right where Ian had just been. There was a very good chance that the bad guys knew where they were now. And if that wasn't alarming enough, monitor 5 was even more shocking. It was a view of some unknown building and Alan could be seen very clearly in the picture. There was a young girl and a tall young guy standing very close to him. And it was only seconds before Ian and Ellie saw another girl limp into the picture from the left side. It was obvious that it was Jodie, Tim, and Lex.

Ellie was very relieved to see that Alan was still alive. Ian noticed something else and was amused by it.

"Would you look at that? The guy singlehandedly found all three kidnap victims. What does he need us for?"

Ellie slightly laughed and then looked closer. Alan had his left arm bandaged up and she was now able to tell that Tim and Jodie were helping him walk. All of them were looking to their left and walking backwards.

"Oh, God. He's hurt. And it looks as though something is in there with them."

Ian looked closer, too.

"I think you're right," he said.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


This new, and much larger room, that Alan found himself in, had a staircase in it. It was located at about the half-way point of the room. Jodie tried to help Alan make it to the staircase. Lex was right behind them, trying to keep up. Tim had fallen behind, as he began to look around the big room they were in. They were in what looked like a room with merchandise overstock. There was a desk, complete with a wooden chair. There were also piles and piles of T-shirts everywhere. Tim noticed a few interesting, and possibly useable, things on the desk and a nearby shelf.

Alan looked back.

"Tim! Come on!" He yelled.

Tim looked at him.

"Alan, I have an idea. You guys get to the stairs. I'm going to try and distract them."

Alan was about to protest, when Tim interrupted him.

"Go. I'll be fine. Honest. Just go. Please, get Jodie and my sister out of here."

Alan still wasn't sure, but he nodded at Tim and continued to go toward the stairs.

The five Raptors had managed to get the trapped Raptor out from under the crates. They all focused on the door, in the small dark room, and easily jarred it open, after only a few strong hits with their bodies. Then, all of them concentrated on the door to the left, throwing their weight into it, shrieking and snarling the entire time.

Tim gave one last look at the door, that the Raptors were now banging into, and then quickly went in the direction of the desk. He ran to the desk and grabbed one of the interesting things that he had spotted. Lighter fluid. Then, he spun around, pushed the wooden chair to the floor, and kicked at it, until it broke. He grabbed some of the overstocked T-shirts and wrapped a few around one of the chair legs. He reached for the lighter from a nearby shelf, and lit his makeshift torch.

As the fire began to develop, the hinges of the door finally failed and fell to the floor. The door of the room slowly started to open. Two Raptors were in the lead, with the rest of the pack a short distance behind. There were six in all, including the one that had been trapped under the crates.

Tim stared at the seemingly fearless dinosaurs, as they walked menacingly toward him. He waved his torch around and yelled at them.

At first, the Raptors weren't very spooked by the fire, but as the two in the lead drew closer, they started to feel the heat of the strange object the human was swinging around. They backed up, all the while snarling and shrieking at Tim.

Alan made it to the staircase and began the long climb up. Jodie was helping him and Lex was following behind. She was having a very difficult time navigating the stairs. The pain in her leg seemed to be getting worse. Alan glanced behind him, to see how Tim was doing. To his amazement, Tim was holding the Raptors at bay. The fire was really working. As Alan was looking behind him, he noticed Lex having trouble. He turned to help her. The three of them managed to get to the top of the staircase. Jodie smiled, as she noticed the signs for the monorail.

"We need to go to the right," she said.

Alan nodded and shouted at Tim.

"Tim! Get up here! Go to the right!"

Tim never took his eyes off of the Raptors. He continued swinging his torch.

"Okay, okay. I'm coming."

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


As Ellie and Ian were trying to figure out what they were all backing away from, Raptors came into camera range and quickly advanced toward Alan and company. They continued to watch monitor 5. They had watched Alan, Lex and Jodie make it up the stairs, and then they watched them disappear to the right side of the screen.

"Where are they? What building are they in?"

"I don't know," Ian said.

He examined the monitors more closely, for any evidence of Alan's location. There was nothing. They continued to watch the screen, as Tim appeared. He had made a torch and was waving it at the Raptors. Ian smiled.

"Now that's a very good idea," he said, nodding. "Most everything is afraid of fire."

Ellie was thinking the same thing, but the Raptors were getting very close to Tim.

"Why isn't he running?" She asked.

"He's giving everyone else a chance to get away."

"Everyone is already up the stairs. He needs to run," Ellie said, very concerned.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


Tim was backing up, toward the staircase now, but the Raptors seemed to be getting a little braver. They were taking small lunges at Tim, and then backing up again. One Raptor, in particular, was getting closer than Tim was comfortable with. He grabbed the lighter fluid from his back pocket, opened it, and began to splash it onto the lead Raptor.

The Raptor quickly stopped and stood up on its hind legs, in a defensive posture, when Tim dowsed it with lighter fluid. It growled at him, making him even more nervous. As the lead Raptor lowered back to the ground, Tim threw his torch at it, catching it on fire immediately. There was so much lighter fluid on the Raptor at that point, that it practically burst into flames. It began to cry and wail, as it stumbled along the concrete floor, going in circles.

The other Raptors panicked and ran backwards, lightly bobbing their heads from side to side, trying to figure out what had happened to their leader.

Jodie was still following the monorail signs, as she helped Alan walk quickly. She finally stopped and smiled. Alan and Lex were smiling, too. After making several turns, they had found the monorail station. There was one monorail car, just sitting and waiting for them to use. Jodie and Alan quickly made their way to the monorail car and went inside. Alan was starting to feel a little dizzy, from all the running, but he still turned around to make sure that Lex was coming. She was. She was almost to the car.

Tim had run up the staircase at a tremendously fast pace, and was sprinting toward the monorail car. The Raptors were finally mustering up enough courage to attempt to go past the burning Raptor. They edged closer and closer to the lead Raptor, which had fallen to the ground, dead.

Alan was trying to figure out how to operate the monorail car. They were in the front car, the car with all of the controls, but nothing was lit up. There was no power. He frantically looked around for a power switch. He found one, but when he flipped the switch, it did nothing. There was clearly no power to the entire car. He looked outside of the car and spotted a small control booth, just ahead of where Tim was running.

"Tim! Turn the power on to the car! Right there!" He yelled, pointing frantically to the tiny control booth.

Tim wasn't sure he understood. He slowed down a little bit.

"What?"

Alan was still pointing, and now Jodie and his sister were also pointing in the same direction.

"The control booth. Right there! Turn the power on. The car isn't working!" Alan yelled again.

Tim quickly went inside the control booth and desperately looked for some sort of switch to get the monorail operational. He found a button with potential. He pushed it. There was a whooshing noise that spread all around the area, and then some lights that weren't illuminated on the monorail car before, suddenly lit up.

The Raptors had finally made it past the fire, and were in hot pursuit of the humans once again. They were running up the staircase.

Alan looked down and happily noticed that the switch under his hand, now had an orange glow coming from it. He flipped the switch again. This time, the power to the car came on, as the orange glow changed to a green glow. He quickly looked at the rest of the controls, trying to see which one might close the sliding doors on the monorail car. None of the levers, switches, or buttons were labeled. And there were quite a lot of them.

"Lex, help me out here. We need to get the doors closed when Tim gets in here."

Lex was yelling to Tim to go faster, as he ran toward the monorail car. She glanced over at Alan, and then limped toward the controls. She studied the levers, switches, and buttons. After only a few seconds, she pointed to the one she believed to be for the sliding door. She limped away, to check on Tim's progress. Jodie had taken her place in the yelling department.

"Tim. You're almost here. Hurry. Hurry, Tim!" She yelled repeatedly.

Lex came up next to her and joined in. Alan was standing in the front of the car, with his hand hovering over the button Lex had told him to use. Sweat was running down the side of his face, as he anxiously waited for Tim to get into the car.

The Raptors were all the way to the top of the staircase, and taking swift steps, easily gliding through the middle of the room, and through all the turns. They were almost to their prey.

Lex noticed how close the Raptors were getting.

"Tim! Hurry! Oh, God, hurry!" Lex yelled to her brother.

Tim didn't dare look back. He knew he didn't want to know just how close the Raptors were to him. Their snarls and shrieks seemed to be right up against his ears. He was running, as fast as his legs would take him. He was totally exhausted, but he continued on. His fear was keeping him going. He reached the monorail car, and the girls got out of his way. With a giant last leap, he landed inside the car, diving head first. He managed to flip right over and smack against the opposite edge of the car, his body coming to a sudden, and painful halt.

When Tim made a successful jump, Jodie and Lex turned to Alan at the same time.

"Close the door!" They shouted in unison.

Alan was already doing just that. He pushed the button Lex had told him to, and the sliding doors began to close. They were closing painfully slow, though. The Raptors were definitely moving faster than the closing doors. The carnivores made it all the way to the car, and mimicking Tim, leapt toward the sliding doors. In the excitement, Alan accidently leaned on the button with his hand. Pressing the button for a continued period of time, made the doors slide quicker! The doors closed with a click, just as the Raptors threw their bodies at the monorail car. It was too late for them to get to the humans. They simply bounced off of the reinforced windows and doors, confused by what had happened.

Tim was still sprawled out on the floor of the monorail car, breathing quite heavily. Jodie was next to him, checking on him. Lex watched in horror, as the Raptors continued to throw their bodies at the door. She turned her head toward Alan, but didn't take her eyes off of the dinosaurs.

"Alan, get us moving," she said.

"I'm working on it. I'm working on it," Alan said, as he was trying to decide on which lever to move.

He decided on the lever all the way to the right. He moved it up and the monorail started to move slowly forward, and away from the mall station. All four of them began to relax some, as the Raptors gradually disappeared from sight.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


Ellie and Ian were still standing in the lab, near the monitors, so that they weren't seen by the cameras. After Alan had disappeared from the screen, and Ellie saw Raptors in pursuit, she had been very quiet. Too quiet. Ian could tell she was about to explode with fear and anger.

"Ellie, they could have made it," Ian said, hoping that he was right. "No, they probably made it."

Ellie just looked at him. She had no feeling in her eyes. Then, suddenly, she filled with rage and began to hit the equipment in front of her, in pure frustration. Ian tried to stop her, but she ended up pushing him away.

"You don't understand, Ian! I can't lose him now. I can't. Not now."

She began to knock monitors down, letting them crash to the floor. Ian just moved out of the way and let her take out her frustrations on the defenseless equipment. She repeatedly hit the strange looking buttons, lined up under the monitors. As she was screaming Alan's name out loud and beginning to cry, she heard his voice. She instantly stopped moving and listened closely.

"Ellie?" Alan asked.

She was flooded with emotions, as she looked around the lab, trying to find Alan. He was nowhere to be seen.

"Ian, where is he?"

Ian was looking down at the strange buttons Ellie had been hitting. There were tiny labels affixed to the buttons. Ian smiled.

"Intercom," he answered.

Ellie was too happy to even think.

"What?"

Ian laughed.

"You pushed the intercom button, down here," Ian said, pointing. "You must have connected with Alan somehow."

Ellie started pushing all of the buttons again, calling for Alan each time. Finally, she pushed the right one. It was labeled M. intercom.

"Alan?" Ellie said, for the fourth try.

"Yeah, it's me. Where are you?" Alan answered back.

"Oh, my God. You're alive!" Ellie said.

"We're in the lab," Ian added, answering the question Ellie had just ignored. "Where are you?"

"On the monorail."

Ian and Ellie exchanged curious looks.

"Monorail?" Ian asked.

Alan could be heard laughing.

"Yeah, it's a long story. Where should we meet?"

"Where does the monorail go?" Ellie asked.

"Well, according to this track map Jodie has found, the next stop is the Visitors Center. It's on the right portion of the island. On the East coast, about the middle of the portion."

"Okay, that's where we'll meet you, then. The Visitors Center." Ian said.

"Good, good. See you guys there. And Ellie? Be careful," Alan added.

Ian laughed.

"What about me, my friend?"

There was a slight pause.

"Well, yeah . . . okay. You be careful too, Ian."

"Gee thanks."

Ellie was about to suggest that they get moving, when she noticed people standing in monitor 4. The lab monitor.

"Ian . . ." she began to say, but was then interrupted.

Patrick Bodan was standing in the middle section of the lab, right where the camera was pointed. Another man was with him, and both of them had guns. Bodan smiled, as he gestured Ian and Ellie over and away from the monitors with his gun.

"And I thought all that I would find here were escaped dinosaurs," he coldly said.

He looked at Ellie and Ian very carefully, and then a few seconds later, recognized them.

"Dr. Malcolm. Dr. Sattler . . . or should I say Degler?"

Ellie couldn't understand why this man knew so much about her. She didn't respond. Bodan continued to talk, smiling the entire time. He had been in the room long enough to hear the conversation between them and Alan.

"Visitors Center. Good plan. I haven't been to the Visitors Center in quite a while. Let's all go pay a visit to it, shall we?"


	30. Chapter 30: An Unexpected Savior

_Chapter 30: An Unexpected Savior_

  


Bodan pushed Ian outside and toward a jeep, that was waiting outside of the lab. Smith escorted Ellie at gunpoint. As they got closer to the jeep, Bodan spoke.

"Okay, Dr. Sattler. You're in the passenger seat. Dr. Malcolm, you join Mr. Smith in the back."

Ian had his hands up. He nodded and got into the backseat, behind the driver's side. Smith got in next to him, still pointing his gun at him. Ellie quickly got in, as well. Bodan sat in the driver's seat and started the jeep. Before he put in into gear, he looked at Ellie.

"I must say, Dr. Sattler. I really didn't think Dr. Grant had a chance of still being alive, until I just heard him talking on that intercom."

Ellie was growing more angry with this man every passing second. She suddenly had stronger feelings about Alan, than she had ever had before. After almost losing him twice in just a couple of days, she had become very protective of him. She tried not to let it show, though.

"Why's that?"

"Well, how should I put this? A Tyrannosaurus Rex was accidently released, while Dr. Grant was known to be roaming the nearby grounds," Bodan said, smiling.

Ellie couldn't hold her anger in much longer. She knew she was about to lose it and start yelling at this dangerous man. It would do no one any good, least of all, herself.

"Mr. Bodan, is it?" She asked.

Bodan put the jeep in gear and began to turn to the left and in the direction of the South Bridge.

"Yes, it is, my dear," he answered without looking at her.

"Mr. Bodan, why in the hell would you take innocent children hostage?"

Ian was in the backseat, getting a little uneasy.

"Ellie, that's probably not---"

"It's quite all right, Dr. Malcolm. Let the lady speak," Bodan said, glancing at Ellie, and then looking back at the road.

Ellie took a deep breath. She had no idea where this surge of courage was coming from. The man could easily harm her, that was for sure. She just didn't seem to care at this moment.

"Why, Mr. Bodan? Money? Social standing in your corrupt little bunch? Or maybe it's just because you genuinely like to harm children? Please, I'd love to know."

The jeep came to the South Bridge and stopped. Bodan stared at Ellie for a few seconds, before he stepped out of the jeep and went to the keypad. As Bodan left, Ian tried to warn Ellie to be quiet.

"Ellie, please don't get this guy angry. We're in big enough trouble here, don't you think?"

Smith interrupted what Ellie was going to say.

"Stop the talking. Mr. Bodan doesn't like talk that occurs behind his back," he said.

Ian put his hands up again, as Smith pointed his gun at him.

"Sorry. Won't happen again," Ian said.

Bodan had entered a code and watched the gate open. He turned around and started back for the jeep. As he got into the driver's seat, he smiled coldly at Ellie.

"Dr. Sattler, if it weren't for a few unforseen events happening this evening, I would have already killed the both of you. But it looks as if I'll have to wait for my employer to get here. You're not entitled to answers, my dear. You are the unwanted one here. Not me. You are the one trying to end my employment here, by putting us all in jail. I've been briefed on you, Malcolm and your dear Dr. Grant. You have no secrets to hide with me, so why don't you stop your babbling now, and just sit there like a good girl."

Ellie wasn't feeling quite so courageous anymore. She could hardly bring herself to even look at the man. He spoke with such confidence and intelligence, and he knew so much about her. He had already succeeded in making her uncomfortable, when he added something that really sealed her silence.

"I don't want to have to beat you into minding your own business, dear. After all, isn't that what your husband is for?"

"Okay, that's just about enough," Ian interrupted from the backseat.

Bodan smiled at Ellie, as she glanced over at him. She looked away. He put the jeep in gear and drove over the bridge. He got out, to put a code in at the other side, and then drove the jeep away from the South Bridge and toward the Visitors Center.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alan was sitting on the stool near the controls of the monorail car. Jodie was sitting in the first row of seats, right behind him, looking at the small track map she had found. Tim and Lex were back further, in the third row of seats. Lex was also studying one of the track maps. None of them had said much since Alan had talked with Ellie. They were just sitting quietly, resting, and collecting their thoughts. Alan finally broke the silence.

"Tim, I have to say that was a great idea with the fire."

Tim perked up a little bit.

"Thanks. It was the only thing I could think of."

"Well, it worked perfectly. You saved all of us," Alan said.

Lex was studying the map, and not really paying attention to the conversation. She noticed something questionable on it.

"What's an Albertosaurus?" Lex asked, interrupting them.

"It looks like a T-Rex, only smaller," Jodie answered.

"And it can see a hell of a lot better, too," Alan added.

Lex looked at the both of them. 

"Sounds like you found that out personally," she said.

"Yes, we did. Not a very pleasant dinosaur," Alan said.

"I was attacked by another dinosaur when I first got here, too. A Barysomething, or a Suchasomething," Jodie said.

Alan laughed.

"Baryonyx or Suchomimus," he corrected her.

"Yeah, one of those," Jodie said, joining him in a laugh.

"Well, there's one of each of those, here on this island," Lex added, looking at the map.

"What? Suchomimus and Baryonyx?" Alan asked, surprised.

"Yeah, she's right. Both of them are here on the map," Jodie said, looking down at her own map again.

Alan pulled the map a little closer, and took a look for himself.

"Why would they produce both species? They've got to be out of their minds!" Alan yelled to no one in particular.

"Well, they did kidnap kids, you know. I think that makes them certifiable, right there," Tim added.

Lex couldn't quite place what either of the dinosaurs looked like.

"What is a Suchomimus and a Baryonyx? Or would I rather not know?"

Alan was about to explain, but Tim beat him to it.

"Suchomimus was a carnivorous dinosaur that lived in the Cretaceous Period. It was about 36 feet long, 12 feet high at the hip, and weighed about 3 to 4 tons. Baryonyx was also carnivorous and from the Cretaceous Period. It was about 32 feet long, 15 feet high at the hip, and weighed about 2 tons."

"Very well said, Tim," Alan said, clearly proud of him.

"Thanks," he said.

Lex was impressed with Tim's knowledge, as well. But she wasn't happy with the actual information. Jodie felt the same way. Jodie moved back to where Lex was, while Tim went to the front of the car to talk to Alan.

"So, how does one have a wealth of dinosaur knowledge, that he's able to just rattle off at will?" Alan asked, smiling.

Tim smiled, too.

"I have dinosaurs on the brain, remember?"

Alan laughed and readjusted his shoulder, to try to stop it from throbbing.

"Oh yes, I seem to remember that now," Alan said, in a joking manner.

"Seriously though, I'm all set up to go to the University of California, Berkeley. I have a scholarship."

"That's wonderful, Tim," Alan said.

"I have an internship set up at the University of California Museum of Paleontology for the summer, too. Only I was supposed to meet with someone about that already."

Alan smiled.

"Well, when we get out of here, I'll put in a good word for you."

"That would be most helpful, Alan. Thank you," Tim said.

Tim was feeling like he was on top of the world. He was talking to his inspiration about paleontology. It couldn't get much better than it was, at that moment.

"It would be my pleasure," Alan said, and then he added, "I've always had a feeling you would go down the paleontology path."

"I had planned on that, all my young life. And then when I was 8 years old, I visited Jurassic Park and met you, and decided that I wanted to do what you do."

"Even after being chased by the very thing you admire?" Alan asked.

Alan asked the one question he was always asking himself. Part of him wanted to see his life's work, alive and walking in front of him. That was an obvious conclusion, but seeing living and breathing dinosaurs, produced by scientists, was hardly the same thing as going back in time. There was no way to observe any kind of natural behavior, since there were electric fences and human integration involved. The question had always been a difficult one for Alan to answer, and he wanted to get Tim's point of view on the subject.

"Yes, even after that," was Tim's simple answer. "These things, here and in Jurassic Park, are living and breathing creatures that have no idea what era they're in. They have no idea of how to act, so they're not real dinosaurs from the past. You can't compare the two. I want to study the past, not these things here. They're mostly just---"

"Theme park monsters," Alan said.

"Yes. Theme park monsters. Exactly," Tim agreed.

Lex interrupted.

"Like you haven't heard that before, Tim," she said. Then she looked at Alan. "He has all of your speeches on tape, Alan. He listens to them over and over."

Tim felt slightly embarrassed, but not enough to get up and smack his sister. He settled for scolding her.

"Shut up, Lex," he said, and then he looked back at Alan. "I have listened to all of your speeches, that's true. But over the years, I've been able to formulate my own opinions. It's just that my opinions are very similar to yours, that's all."

Alan was beginning to feel awkward at all of the attention. He never coped with praise very well. He nodded and smiled at Tim. The young man was very intelligent, Alan could easily see that much. And Alan, himself, may have had something to do with that, which made him understandably happy.

"I'm very impressed with what you've decided to do with your life, Tim. I'm very proud of you."

"Thank you," Tim said.

Alan looked at Lex.

"And you, too. Medical school is very demanding. It takes a lot of hard work and resilience."

Lex smiled, clearly happy that he noticed.

"Plus, I believe it saved my life," he said, gesturing toward his bandage.

"I'm glad I was able to help," she said.

Alan looked over to Jodie, who was being very quiet, studying her map. He tried to get her into the conversation.

"So, Jodie, how much longer til we get to the Visitors Center?"

Jodie studied the track map a little bit longer.

"I think we're over the Baryonyx right now. Then we have to pass the T-Rex, the Pterodactyls, and the Megalodon."

They all looked out of the monorail windows to see if they could spot the Baryonyx down below. It was nowhere to be seen. Lex sulked back into the seat, clearly disappointed by not seeing the dangerous dinosaur from such a safe viewpoint. Everyone followed her lead. After a short pause, Lex broke the silence.

"Megalodon? Isn't that a big shark?" She asked.

"Give the girl a medal," Tim said, sarcastically.

Lex was about to counter, and start off another small sibling battle, but Alan cut in.

"If this is going to be another fight, I'm jumping out right here."

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After going through one more security fence, Bodan's jeep pulled up in front of the Visitors Center. The building was three stories high and had two side entrances, in addition to the main entrance. They were parked in front of the South Entrance, one of the smaller ones. Bodan stepped out of the jeep, and then looked over at Ellie.

"Let's go meet Dr. Grant," he said, looking at his watch. "He, and the other guests, should arrive in about 20 minutes."

Ellie didn't say a word. She slowly got of the jeep, looking back at Ian. Smith was already motioning for him to get out. The four of them walked to the door and Bodan opened it, with a keycard.

When they went inside, Ian and Ellie were blown away with the look of the Visitors Center. It was quite impressive, with its high pillars, moving all the way up to the very top of the building. There were skeletons of dinosaurs here, as well, including Albertosaurus, Velociraptor, Tyrannosaurus Rex, and Baryonyx. There was so much room in the building, that all four skeletons easily fit into it, leaving room for additions.

As they were walking inside, they could now see the Main Entrance. The double doors used for it were about 15 feet high and had a wooden look to them. There were signs in every direction, explaining where everything was located. The monorail was located on the second floor, while the "Meg" was located on the "Underground Floor", according to the advertisement banner across the entire back of the Visitors Center.

Bodan didn't waste time.

"Okay, let's get up to the second floor. I don't want to miss the look on Grant's face when he sets his eyes upon me once again."

Things were finally going Bodan's way. Envoy was due on the island in less than two hours, the dinosaurs were mostly under control, and the hostages were about to be recaptured, along with their would-be rescuers.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The monorail slowed to almost a stop, as it approached a very different looking paddock. Jodie was the first to look ahead.

"We're at the Pterodactyl Aviary," she said, looking down at the map and up ahead over and over again.

Alan sat up a little straighter, as the monorail car entered into a small fenced in area that was obviously separate from the rest of the aviary. It was just big enough to allow the monorail to go through. The fence looked to be very durable.

"Well, at least it looks like they can't get to the monorail," he commented.

Alan took a good look at his new surroundings. It seemed that they had entered a whole new place. There were several small canyons below, along with mountains that protruded all the way up and over the monorail. This area looked like it might have been the leftovers from the volcano that used to reside on the island. There were also several caves visible. Alan imagined all of the caverns that must have existed throughout this area. There were a great many places for a Pterodactyl to hide.

Lex had moved to the back of the monorail car, and was looking down.

"I don't see any of them. Do you guys?"

"No, I don't," Tim said, looking all around.

"Same here," Jodie said.

Alan hadn't answered. Lex looked at him, and saw him looking in the opposite direction from everyone else.

"What is it, Alan? Do you see one?"

"I see four."

"Really?" Lex asked.

Jodie, Tim, and Lex quickly made their way to the front of the monorail. None of them could see even one.

"Where?" Jodie asked.

Alan pointed. There, in the distance, perched on an outcropping in the rocks, were all four Pterodactyls. They stayed perched there, unmoving. The daylight was beginning to slightly fade now, making strange shadows loom around them. It was a very eerie sight. Lex shivered.

"They look like buzzards. Buzzards waiting around to eat something that might have died down there," she said, pointing below.

"Yeah, they do," Jodie agreed, suddenly frightened.

She moved right next to Alan. He put an arm around her, as they all continued to stare at the spooky prehistoric birds. Then, Alan breathed a little easier, as the monorail slowed again, and gently made its way out of the aviary and back out into the open. Lex noticed Alan looked like he was in more pain than earlier.

"You okay? Want another pain pill?"

"You have more of those?" He asked.

"Yeah, I took the whole bottle. It was only about half full, but there's enough to give you another one."

"Sure, thanks."

Lex handed him another Darvocet and he swallowed it without water this time.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


Ethan Davis opened the door to the Main Control Room. Daniel was still in there, along with Jacob, who had come back after the Rex had been taken care of. When he walked in, Daniel looked at him.

"It's about time," he said. "You missed quite a few happenings, Ethan."

Ethan came inside.

"Like what?"

"Well, let's see . . . there was the finding the hostages thing," Daniel said, looking at Jacob.

"And Bodan also managed to capture some of the people Hammond sent to rescue the kids," Jacob added.

"Any idea who they are yet?" Ethan asked.

"Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler, and Ian Malcolm," Jacob answered.

Ethan was shocked by the news. Daniel and Jacob noticed.

"What is it?" Daniel asked.

"Nothing. I just didn't think that Hammond could talk them into coming to another dinosaur island," Ethan said.

Jacob smiled.

"Money does wonders for most people," he said.

Ethan sat down in front of his work station. Daniel quickly started barking orders at him.

"Do another sweep of the paddocks, to make sure all of the animals are accounted for. And watch the videotapes, to see if you can spot the Raptors."

"What are you going to do?" Ethan asked.

"He's going to run the rest of the park, Ethan," Jacob answered. "Just do what you're told."

Ethan nodded and began to type. Jacob looked at Daniel.

"I'm going to head to the Visitors Center. Bodan may need help, when the monorail, and Grant, get there."

"Okay. I'll let you know when the Raptors are contained and when Mr. Envoy arrives," Daniel said.

"Thank you."

Jacob left the building. Daniel watched him get into one of the jeeps parked out front and drive away. After a pause, he went back to typing.

Ethan ran the dinosaur field test program and was satisfied with the results.

"Everything's accounted for, except for the eleven Raptors and that one dead Elasmosaurus," he said to Daniel.

"Bodan found one dead Raptor in the lab. So we can bring that down to ten missing."

"Okay. Ten Raptors missing, then," Ethan restated.

"That's a relief. We're finally getting control back," Daniel said, smiling. "Now that Bodan has Malcolm and Sattler . . . and Grant and the kids soon . . . things are lining up nicely. With some luck, Mr. Envoy won't even know things went wrong."

Ethan smiled back. He got up and went to the time delay VCRs that were under the monitors. He retrieved the videotapes from them, and looked at Daniel.

"I'm going into the other room, where there's a bigger monitor to watch these on," he said, holding the tapes up awkwardly.

Daniel never looked up. He just nodded, as he continued typing something on his keyboard. Ethan went into the other room, shaking his head.

"God, that guy is an asshole," Ethan whispered to himself, finally saying out loud how he really felt.

Ethan put the tapes down, next to the VCR in the room, and put one of them in it. After he pressed play, he quickly looked around for Daniel's laptop computer. He found it, sitting on a table near the back door of the room. He smiled and took it from the table, tucked it under his arm, and quietly went to the back door. Next to the door was a gun rack. He grabbed one of the guns and tucked it in the back of his pants.

"It's time I put a stop to this," he whispered to himself, as he slowly opened the back door.

  



	31. Chapter 31: Rescue Operation, Standing ...

_Chapter 31: Rescue Operation, Standing By_

  


John Hammond was in his office, waiting rather impatiently for a phone call. Henry was right next to him.

"Mr. Hammond, why don't you try to relax some, sir. You're going to weaken yourself."

"Henry, we should have heard from our people by now. I'm just anxious. Don't worry yourself over it."

"I'm sure everything is coming together adequately, sir."

Hammond was about to disagree, once again, when the phone rang. He held back his words, smiled, and picked up the phone.

"Yes. Hammond here."

Henry watched as Hammond talked to the unknown person on the other end. Hammond nodded and said 'yes' a lot. After about a two minute conversation, he hung up the phone.

"Henry, we're in luck. Everything is prepared. All they need is a green light from me, and they can be to Isla Norte in under a half an hour."

"That's great, sir. I told you not to worry."

Hammond smiled.

"Yes, you did. And you were right, my dear friend."

There was a knock on the front door of the mansion. Henry excused himself and left the office, leaving Hammond alone. He came back a few minutes later, with a package in his hand.

"Here's the information you requested, sir," Henry said.

He handed the package to Hammond.

"Thank you, Henry. It's good to have something else to wrap my mind around. I'm growing tired of all the worrying and waiting."

"Yes, sir."

Hammond laughed. He hadn't laughed one time, since the events of a few nights ago. He opened up the package and a rather large manilla folder was revealed.

"Now let's find out everything there is to know about Mr. Mark Degler," he said, opening up the folder across his desk.


	32. Chapter 32: The Showdown

_Chapter 32: The Showdown_

  


The monorail had arrived at the Visitors Center. Alan pushed the button to open the door. The four of them stood quietly, as the door slowly slid open. There were no signs of Ellie or Ian. In fact, there were no signs of anything. Just complete silence, all around them.

"I don't like this," Lex said.

Alan was the first one to step out of the monorail car. The others followed him. They walked into the main lobby area of the second floor. Alan saw a sign that said "AERIAL TOURS! PLEASE GO TO FIRST FLOOR LOBBY FOR DETAILS!" He looked at Lex.

"Wanna go on an airplane ride?"

"Funny," she said, smirking at him.

He laughed. They continued on. Jodie didn't leave Alan's side. Mostly because he was hurt and she wanted to help, but also because she was scared to death. The quietness was getting to her.

"Where are they?" She finally asked.

"I don't know," Alan answered.

Tim and Lex were lagging behind, as Tim stayed with his limping sister. Alan turned to look at them.

"How are you feeling, Lex?"

"Not bad. Really. I'll make it. How about you?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I think you gave me too many of those pills. I feel a bit out of it."

Lex smiled.

"That was the plan," she said.

Alan smiled at her, and then he turned back around and continued to walk. Jodie was still right next to him.

"Alan, why didn't we see the Meg thing while we were out there?" Jodie asked.

"I guess it's shy," he answered.

Jodie shrugged that comment off, as she and Alan came to a door. It looked as though it hadn't been finished yet. There was a giant piece of cardboard taped fully across the middle of it, making it look like they were planning on installing glass at a later time. Tim and Lex were still behind, and getting farther behind, as Tim was helping Lex walk. Alan opened the door and saw five people standing all the way in the back. He smiled, as he instantly recognized one of them.

"Ellie!" He shouted.

Ellie smiled, but she didn't move.

Alan stepped closer to the group of people. Ian was there, too, as well as three more men. He recognized two of the men right away. Bodan and Smith. The wonderful duo who had previously knocked him out cold. Jodie recognized the other man.

"That other guy is Jacob," she whispered.

Alan nodded, as he watched Bodan hold Ellie against her will.

"Dr. Grant. How's the head?" Bodan asked, from across the room.

Alan didn't answer him.

"You're not displaying favorable manners," Bodan said.

Alan didn't answer him again. He looked at Ian.

"You guys all right?" He asked Ian.

"Yes. You?" Ian asked.

"Fine, fine. We took the tour," Alan said, looking at Bodan. "Very nice, I must say."

Bodan smiled coldly. He was about to come closer to him, when he was distracted by the door opening again. Tim and Lex walked into the room. They had finally caught up with Alan and stopped, just as they got inside.

"Welcome to the party," Bodan said.

Lex was instantly frightened by his voice. He had promised that the next time they met, he would get even with her. Tim noticed how she reverted back to her young self again. She thought about running, but then Bodan's two men aimed their guns at her and Tim. She tried to fight back her panic. She tried thinking of Alan again. This time, he was actually right in the same room with her, which helped her ease her panic quicker. She knew he was wounded, but she hoped that he would get them out of the situation . . . somehow.

"Why don't the two of you join Dr. Grant and his lovely cousin," Bodan demanded.

Bodan was pleased with Lex's reaction to him. He looked back at Alan, who had walked to about the middle of the room, and had now stopped. After a quick evaluation, he spoke.

"Looks like something . . . attacked you, doctor."

Alan didn't answer him. Bodan continued.

"Looks like someone mended you, as well."

Alan was looking at Ellie, as Bodan spoke. He noticed that she looked frightened. It made him really angry to know that Bodan had frightened her. There was enough to worry about on this island, besides the crazed humans.

Bodan was very much aware that Alan was worried about Ellie. He played on that. He grabbed Ellie's right arm and forced it behind her. She didn't make a sound, but it was clear, by the look on her face, that Bodan was hurting her.

Alan, as expected, took a few steps forward. By this time, Tim and Lex were next to him. Lex grabbed his right arm, in an attempt to change his mind. He stopped.

Bodan looked disappointed.

"Oh, my dear Alexis. Why don't you permit Dr. Grant to do as he wishes. You're not allowing me to have any fun."

Alan just wanted to get Ellie away from Bodan.

"Please, just let her go," he said.

"You remember what happened to you the last time you demanded things, don't you?" Bodan asked.

Alan didn't answer again. He didn't want to get Bodan any more worked up than he already was. Bodan looked at Smith and smiled.

"Mr. Smith, why don't you remind the good doctor," Bodan said.

Smith walked up next to Bodan. He was about to attack Alan, when Bodan's walkie talkie beeped.

"Hold on," he said, as he answered it. "Bodan, here."

"Mr. Bodan, it's Daniel. We have a situation here."

Bodan looked over at Alan and company. They were all listening. He looked at Smith.

"Here. Take Dr. Sattler," he said.

Smith took her and Bodan walked a little way from everyone and began to talk on the walkie talkie again.

"What sort of situation?"

"Ethan has disappeared. And I think he took the laptop."

"What does that have to do with me?" Bodan asked.

"I don't think Ethan has our best interests in mind. He's already changed some of the system passwords," Daniel answered.

"Well, can't you just reset the passwords?"

"Yes, of course, but every time I reset them, he changes them again."

"Well, I suggest you go find him."

"Yes, sir," Daniel said, and then there was a pause, as Bodan could hear a phone ringing in the background. Daniel came back to the walkie talkie. "Sir, Mr. Envoy is here."

Bodan looked over at everyone in his captivity.

"He's early. Well, at least we have the people situation under control. How's the situation with the Raptors?"

"I was able to trap one of them in the lab, and two of them in one of the mall rooms. That's it so far, though."

"That's better than nothing. Keep working on that. Which helipad is Envoy landing on?"

"Helipad 2, sir."

"Okay, I guess I'll have to meet with him. He will expect that."

"What are you going to do with the prisoners?" Daniel asked.

"The Visitors Center is adequate for the purpose. Jacob can stay with them. I'll bring Mr. Envoy back here, and then we can discuss what to do with them."

"Okay, sir. I'm going to find Ethan, then. I have an extra laptop to monitor any other changes he may attempt. I'll bring the walkie talkie, too."

"Let me know when you have Ethan."

"Yes, sir."

Bodan turned the walkie talkie on standby, and walked back to where everyone was. He took Ellie back from Smith.

"Well, it looks like I'm needed somewhere else right now," he said. "We'll have to pick this up at a later time, I'm afraid."

He noticed how relieved they all looked.

"Jacob, stay here with them. Take them underground. There's less ways to escape from down there. Smith will back you up," he said.

Jacob and Smith nodded.

Bodan still had a hold of Ellie. He was about to make his exit, when he looked at Lex.. He made direct eye contact with her. As he did, she looked away from him. He decided to start getting even with her a little at that moment. He knew that she cared about Alan and Ellie. He looked at Alan and saw how anxious he was to get Ellie back unharmed. And Alan had upset him a few times already, so getting on his nerves would be a bonus. He had the perfect idea for a good first step in getting even.

He grabbed Ellie's right hand and twisted it, until he heard the desired "pop". Ellie understandably screamed in agony.

Alan moved forward in a rage, but Smith fired two shots just over his head. He stopped immediately and covered his head, wincing as the movement hurt his shoulder. The shots just missed Tim, as well, who was standing on Alan's left. Ian was also ready to fight. Jacob had his gun already aimed at his head, even before Bodan attacked Ellie, so he reluctantly stood by.

Bodan smiled.

"Watch it, Dr. Grant. You could get yourself accidently shot very easily."

He let Ellie's arm go and shoved her toward Alan. Alan moved forward to catch her, as she almost tumbled to the floor. She grabbed onto him tight, trying not to break down.

Bodan turned to leave.

"Well, I'm off. At least you will have something to keep your interest while I'm away," Bodan said.

He left the building. The sound of the jeep starting, and then driving off, could be heard.

Jacob and Smith were left alone with the six of them now. It wouldn't take Bodan long to get to Helipad 2 and back, so Jacob and Smith just had to keep an eye on them for a short time.

Alan was holding Ellie. She was holding her hand up close to her body.

"Let me see your hand," he asked.

"No."

The pain was very intense. Her fingers already felt numb.

"Ellie," Alan said.

"Just give me a minute," she said, fighting back tears.

"Okay," he whispered.

Ellie was leaning her head on his right shoulder. She could see his injury very clearly now. She began to focus her thoughts on him and away from her own problems.

"What happened to your shoulder?" She whispered in his ear.

"Raptor," he said. 

"Oh, God," she whispered.

"I'm doing pretty well. Lex mended me."

"Lex?" She asked.

Lex moved so that Ellie could see her.

"Yeah. She's a 3rd year med student. She even stitched me up," he explained. "You should let her see your hand."

Ellie lifted her head up and turned toward Lex. She let her examine it. Lex moved her wrist back and forth and checked the placement of all the tiny bones. Ellie winced.

"Sorry."

"It's not your fault," Ellie said.

"It looks like some of the carpal bones are broken. And possibly the ulna," Lex said, as she continued to examine her wrist.

"Can you put them back?" Tim asked.

"Not really. Without an x-ray, it's very hard to put those bones back. The carpal bones are very tiny. People usually go to an orthopedic surgeon for hand and wrist injuries, because of how delicate those tiny bones are."

Ellie nodded. There were tears coming down her face. She went back to holding onto Alan. Smith walked closer to them. He pointed the gun at Alan.

"No more talking. Let's get moving. We have two floors to go through," he said.

"Sorry," Alan said.

Jacob led everyone down to the underground level of the Visitors Center. Smith was bringing up the rear, watching the prisoners closely. As they got down there, the two underwater viewing areas were easily seen. There was nothing but murky water there, though. No sign of the Megalodons, which made Jacob happy. The Meg was one of the creepiest things there, in his opinion, and he had no desire to see it slowly swimming by. Jacob looked back at his task at hand. He was uncomfortable with them all standing in a cluster. He decided to separate them. He looked over at the wall to the right, and then he looked at Alan and Ellie.

"I want the two of you to sit down. Over there," he said, pointing to the wall.

Alan helped Ellie get to the wall and they slowly sat down. Ellie edged up close to him and he put his arm around her, whispering reassurances to her.

Jacob turned to Tim and Lex.

"You two, over there and sit down," he said, pointing to the left.

Tim helped his sister sit down, and then he sat down himself. Satisfied, Jacob looked at the two remaining people. Ian and Jodie.

"Go to the far wall," he said, pointing behind him.

Jodie looked at Alan. He nodded to her, so she quickly went with Ian. She didn't really know him, but she knew enough about him to trust him. They sat down where Jacob had instructed.

With all of them against separate walls, Jacob felt like he had a better handle on the situation. Just as he was feeling like he was in control, there was a strange noise coming from near one of the underwater viewing areas. Everyone in the room had heard it, and all of them looked. There was nothing to see, though.

While Jacob and Smith were looking toward the underwater viewing areas, Alan leaned forward and got Ian's attention. Ian leaned forward.

"We cannot be here when Bodan comes back," Alan whispered.

"I know," Ian whispered. "Any ideas?"

"Not really," Alan said.

Jacob was looking through the reinforced glass, when he heard whispering, coming from behind him. He looked at Smith, who was standing right next to him.

"Keep a lookout for that damned fish. I'll be right back."

Smith nodded, while Jacob walked toward where he had heard the whispering. He walked to Alan, and looked down at him.

"Didn't I say no talking?"

"Yes. I'm sorry," Alan said.

Jacob kicked him in his wounded shoulder. Alan immediately hunched over in pain, grabbing it. Jodie instinctively began to get up, to try and help him, but Ian grasped her arm and talked her into sitting back down before Jacob saw her.

"Apology accepted, Dr. Grant. Now, please don't talk again," Jacob said, and then he glanced around the room. "That goes for all of you."

Ellie was watching Alan carefully. At first she thought he was going to pass out, but he managed to calm his breathing down and relax. He looked at her and saw the concern on her face.

"I'm okay," he whispered.

Ellie nodded and held onto him. Jacob was thinking of punishing him again for whispering. He walked toward Alan, but was interrupted by something else. A new voice entered the mix.

"Leave him alone, Jacob," the voice said.

Jacob turned around and saw Ethan. Ethan had a gun and he was pointing it at him.

"What is this? A change of sides?"

"You could say that," Ethan said, and then he looked over at Ian. "Hello, Ian."

Ian smiled.

"Hi there, Ethan."

Alan and Ellie looked at each other in a puzzled manner. They had no idea what was going on. There was no time for explanations either. Suddenly, one of the Megalodons appeared in the underwater viewing area to the left, startling everyone. Jacob took the opportunity to shoot at Ethan. Tim was right there though, and pushed Jacob from behind, causing the shot to go off in a wild direction, scaring the Meg away. Jacob still managed to push the young programmer to the floor, and the two of them began the desperate struggle for control of the guns.

Ian had also seized the opportunity and rushed Smith, who was right in front of the area that the Meg had just appeared from. Smith was looking into the eyes of the menacing shark, when it suddenly swam away, after hearing the gunshot. As Smith looked toward the noise, Ian tackled him and wrestled him for the gun, hitting Smith every chance that he got.

Alan watched, as Tim and Ethan were struggling with Jacob. He looked over at Ian and saw him fighting with Smith alone. Smith was shorter than Jacob and Bodan, but he was pure muscle, giving Ian a very hard time. Alan pressed up against the wall and began to boost himself up. Ellie looked at him with concern.

"What are you doing?" She whispered.

"Helping hopefully," Alan whispered.

Tim was still trying to help Ethan. He grabbed one of Jacob's arms and the three of them began to wrestle for the gun. Another shot went off, striking the ceiling, going clear up to the second floor.

Alan was all the way up by now. He ran toward Ian and Smith. He was able to surprise Smith and swipe the gun from his hand. He didn't get a chance to point it or use it. When Smith saw that Alan grabbed the gun, he turned and punched Ian in the face, knocking him down, and then turned in Alan's direction. Alan and Smith were about in the middle of the room, with Alan's back to Ellie. Smith didn't waste any time, as he violently went after Alan's weak spot. He squeezed his shoulder and ran him backwards toward the wall. Alan managed to hold onto the gun. He collided with the wall at full force and collapsed. Amazingly, he still managed to hold onto the gun with his right hand.

Tim and Ethan turned out to be a very successful duo. They were much younger and faster than Jacob, and were able to double team him successfully. As Tim pushed Jacob forward, Ethan hit him in the back of the head, causing Jacob to drop his gun. It was making Jacob very angry that they were getting the upper hand, and that he couldn't do a thing about it.

Jodie had run to Ellie and was helping her up, when Alan and Smith came running toward them. Ellie moved out of the way, when they came crashing into the wall. After Alan was rammed into the wall, Jodie helped break the rest of his fall, as he slumped to the floor. Smith, still trying to get possession of the elusive gun, began kicking at Alan. Alan put the gun in his left hand and raised his right hand over his head, protecting himself. Lex was up by this time and Smith had his back to her, as he continued to kick at Alan. She limped toward him and jumped on his back, wrapping her arms around his head and pulling his hair.

Ian was sprawled out on the floor, still dazed by the forceful punch. His attention was directed at the commotion going on near the underwater viewing area. The Meg had come back and had begun to ram its body into the reinforced glass, in what looked like some sort of defensive posture.

Alan was still on the floor, trying his best to deflect Smith's kicks. Smith was finally successful, though, as he was able to kick the gun out of Alan's grasp. It didn't go where he had hoped. It skidded across the floor, away from them. Lex was still hanging on Smith's back. When he realized he had kicked the gun free, he stopped beating on Alan and focused on the person on his back. He stretched an arm back, grabbed her, and threw her to the side. She hit the ground with a thud.

Ian was about to get up off of the floor, when the gun came spinning up right to him. He picked it up and half-ran toward Smith. After Smith was able to get Lex off of him, he turned to go after the gun. Ian was right there in front of him, with the butt of the gun ready. As Smith turned, Ian struck him in the side of the head, as hard as he could. Smith collapsed in a heap, just missing Ellie. Ian knelt down by Alan.

"You okay?" He asked.

"That went well, don't you think?" Alan said, half laughing and half-wincing.

Ian smiled. He was glad Alan seemed okay. He had taken a few harsh hits, but it looked as though he'd be fine. He looked over at Ethan and Tim and saw that they had managed to knock Jacob out somehow.

"Looks like the boys took care of Jacob, too," he said.

The Meg was still ramming the glass and it was starting to generate tiny cracks, causing a little bit of water to drip down the glass. Tim was the first to notice.

"The Meg is breaking the glass. We have to go. Now!"

Lex got herself up off the floor and joined her brother and Ethan. Ian and Jodie helped Alan and Ellie up. After Ethan gathered up all of his computer equipment, the seven of them quickly went up the stairs and got to the first floor, where they stopped for a rest and a regrouping. When they were finally out of sight, the Meg stopped ramming the glass. It made a few passes near the glass, but then gave up and swam away, disappearing in the mucky water.

Lex limped to Alan, who, by this time, was sort of just slumped up against a wall, trying to hold himself up. Ellie and Jodie were close to him, assisting him. Lex took a long good look at him, and shook her head. She reached over Alan and gently took off the bandage. He winced.

"Don't you try anything like that again. You could easily bleed to death," she scolded him.

"Yes, mother," he said.

Lex gave him a dirty look.

Ellie took a look at Lex's handy work. Alan was breathing heavily from the fight. His chest was moving up and down quite rapidly, but the stitches were lined up very well, with just a small amount of bleeding.

"You did a great job, Lex," she said.

"Yeah, she did," Alan agreed. "I'm sure she saved my life," he added.

"Okay, you're embarrassing me," Lex said.

"Don't be embarrassed. That's a wonderful profession to get into. The fact that you're very good at it, shouldn't embarrass you. It should make you proud," Ellie said.

Lex smiled at Ellie, and then carefully put Alan's bandage back.

"Let's get out of here before Bodan comes back," Lex said.

"Good idea," Ellie agreed.

Ian walked over to Tim and Ethan.

"I'll take that," he said, taking the gun from Ethan's hand.

"It's good to see you," Ethan said, surrendering his weapon.

"Well, it's certainly a pleasure to see you, that's for sure," Ian said in return.

Alan felt the need to know what was going on. He asked the question that everyone in the room wanted to know.

"Who are you?" He asked the young man.

Ethan smiled, as he looked in Alan's direction. Jodie, Lex, and Ellie were next to Alan and all of them were looking his way, waiting for an answer.

"Ethan Davis. Ian Malcolm is my step dad."

"And what a great step dad I am, too," Ian added.

Ethan laughed.

"Yeah, you're better than average, I suppose."

Ian smiled, clearly proud of Ethan's sense of humor. Alan was totally caught off guard with Ethan's previous statement.

"How is that---, why is he---," Alan couldn't formulate an entire question.

Ian smiled.

"He's my second wife's child from her first marriage."

Alan just stared at Ian. He was beginning to get a headache, when Ethan came to his rescue and interrupted.

"Like I said. He's my step dad," Ethan looked at Ian. "Why do you always have to make things so difficult to understand?"

Ian smiled. All of them quickly left the building.


	33. Chapter 33: Envoy's Arrival

_Chapter 33: Envoy's Arrival_

  


Bodan's jeep made it past Control Room 2, and the four unused offices, on the southern tip of the right portion of the island. It was quite dark now and the helicopter lights were easily seen, as it began its descent to Helipad 2. He wanted to be there a little sooner, but the security fence had given him some trouble, delaying him somewhat. Ethan had changed the code for the keypad, making it impossible for Bodan to get through. Daniel had changed it back once, using his extra laptop, but Ethan just reset it again, using the stolen laptop. After several minutes went by, Daniel was finally able to change it back, and make it stick. For some reason, Ethan didn't try changing it back the last time, so Bodan was able to put his code in and get through. Ethan had gotten himself busy with Jacob and Smith, so Bodan had gotten lucky.

Bodan stopped in front of the helicopter, as the pilot turned off the machine, letting the propeller slow down. The pilot emerged from the cockpit and quickly opened the door for his passenger. Marcus Envoy slowly got out of the helicopter. He stayed hunched over slightly, making sure he wouldn't get clipped by the propeller, that was obviously way too high to even reach him. Bodan thought about how dumb the man was, as he got out of the jeep and walked toward Envoy.

"Mr. Envoy. Welcome back, sir. What brings you here?"

Envoy gave him a cynical look, as Bodan extended a hand to him. He shook it. Bodan had been the absolute best man for the job at hand. Envoy knew that, but on the other hand, Bodan seemed like such an insincere person. He knew Bodan could care less about him and that he, more than likely, wished that he hadn't came back at all.

"Well, I hear we've had a little trouble with the . . . ," he was going to say hostages, but changed his mind, "the children."

Bodan smiled. He wished this man would just get right back in the damn chopper and go away.

"We did have a slight problem, sir. But now it's under control. The Murphy kids are very tricky, but we've been able to round them up."

Envoy was nodding, as Bodan explained. He was staring at the large bandage on Bodan's face, as he continued to nod. He couldn't seem to get it out of his mind.

"What happened to your face?"

Bodan turned very serious. He gently touched his face.

"Alexis Murphy," he said.

"Looks like it might scar," Envoy said.

"Yes, sir. It looks that way," Bodan said.

Envoy began walking to the jeep.

"Well, enough small talk, Patrick. Let's get a move on, shall we?"

"Yes, sir. Everyone is waiting for us at the Visitors Center."

"Very good, then."

Bodan let Envoy go past him. He watched the pilot get back into the helicopter and start it up again. That meant that Envoy was planning on a long stay on the island. He stared at his employer's back for a moment, and then followed.

  


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Ethan led everyone down a narrow dirt path. He was moving very quickly. Ian was right behind him. He looked back and noticed that Lex was having a hard time keeping up, even with Tim helping her.

"Ethan, slow down a little. We have a few wounded, you know."

Ethan looked back and slowed his pace.

"I'm sorry. It's just that we need to get into a building. And quick. Before Daniel figures out that I've doctored the cameras out on the pathway."

Ian looked at him proudly.

"You faked the cameras?"

Ethan smiled and nodded. Ian laughed.

"When we get home, I would love to know how you managed to learn all these things about computers," Ian said.

"I've been fascinated with computers for about 9 years now," Ethan said, thinking. "It's been a long time since you've seen me, Ian."

"We've got a lot of catching up to do, then," Ian said, smiling.

Alan was keeping up pretty well. He invited himself into the conversation.

"Where are we going?"

"To the lodge. I have a nice little setup there. It was to be my safe house," Ethan answered.

"What about the cameras?" Ellie asked. She was right next to Alan. He was holding her left hand, while she held her broken hand up to her body.

"I have the cameras in the lodge preprogrammed to display an empty room. I have it on a loop. Daniel hasn't noticed it since I did it. It's been about 2 months," Ethan answered.

"So we're going to crash at the lodge?" Jodie asked.

It was getting very dark outside, and she didn't want to be outside after dark.

"That's the plan," Ethan said. "There are two beds up there right now. We'll have to move a few more in there. It'll be fine because the cameras on the entire third, fourth, and fifth floors are doctored."

"So you were already planning on hiding out there?" Ian asked.

"Yes. Henry Wu and I. Only he's dead now," Ethan said sadly, as he looked down.

"We know that. Ian and I had found his journals in one of the offices," Ellie said.

"We were hiding them there. It was all of the evidence that we were planning on giving to Mr. Hammond."

Ian took a hand and patted his jacket.

"Well, I have some of that evidence right here."

"Good. At least we don't have to go over there," Ethan said, clearly happy.

Ethan continued to lead the way, looking all around him, as they walked.

"What are you doing?" Ian asked.

"I'm looking for a suitable place to stop and make a phone call."

"You can make a phone call from the computer?" Alan asked.

"Yeah. Technology is a great thing."

"In this case, I agree," Alan said, smiling.

Ethan stopped.

"Okay, here we go. This is good. I'll put a call through to Mr. Hammond's office," he said. He looked at Alan. "And you talk to him. All you have to do is talk into the tiny microphone positioned here." He pointed to a small hole at the top of the screen.

Alan nodded. Ethan smiled and began to set up the call. It would take a little while to encrypt the outgoing call, so he began the tiresome work.

"We need to tell Mr. Hammond to pick us up on the West Dock," Ethan said to Alan.

"Why the West Dock, Ethan? Isn't the East Dock just right over there," Ian said, pointing.

"Yes, it is. It's too close to the Main Control Room. That's where Bodan will set up camp. In the Main Control Room, so we should try to get as far away from it as possible."

"Okay," Ian said, still not totally sure.

"Plus, on the dinosaur portion of the island, the computers shut down for about 15 minutes at 11:00am for routine maintenance. It'll be a good time to send in the cavalry."

Ian nodded. This time, Ethan was satisfied that his step father was no longer unsure. He looked at Alan.

"And, Dr. Grant. You'll only have about 4 minutes to complete the call before Daniel can trace it. So please hurry."

Alan nodded again, as he waited for Ethan to finish typing the commands.

  


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Jacob slowly woke up. He had been taken down by a couple of kids and he was infuriated. He sat up. There was a succession of taps coming from somewhere in the room, but he couldn't figure out where. As he looked around the room, he noticed Smith sprawled out on the floor. He was very close to one of the underwater viewing areas, and that's when he noticed a little bit of water leaking from the cracked reinforced glass.

"Smith!" He yelled.

Smith began to stir, just a little bit. Jacob was about to yell again, when he saw something quickly swim by the underwater viewing area. He stood up, and when he did, he felt completely dizzy. Those kids really had done a number on him. And Ethan. Ethan had been behind the attack. He would have to get even for that one, but right now he kept his eyes on the underwater viewing area. He could still hear the gentle tapping noise, coming from somewhere near Smith. He cautiously walked toward the fallen man. The closer he got to Smith, the louder the tapping noise became. He finally realized that it must have been coming from the water. He reached Smith and gently kicked at him, trying to wake him up.

Smith stirred again, and then opened his eyes. He looked up at Jacob, who was looking through the underground viewing area.

"Where are they? Do you know?"

"No idea. Ethan managed to get them all out of here. That little bastard."

Smith started to say something, but Jacob put a hand up, as he heard that tapping again.

"What the hell is that?" He asked Smith.

Smith shrugged his shoulders, as he attempted to get up. Jacob walked closer to the underwater viewing area. He was right in front of it now. The water was very murky, making it hard to see anything. He put his hands up to the glass and looked closely. The tapping noise stopped, as soon as he pressed up against the glass. Then he glimpsed a fast-moving object swim by the other way. It was the adult Megalodon, and it surprised him enough to make him jump back.

"What is it?" Smith asked from the floor.

"That Meg. It's swimming very close to the glass here. If I didn't know better, I would think that it's upset."

He was trembling, from that shark coming so close and so fast, but he continued to watch it. He walked closer to the glass again, as it disappeared into the murky water. About two seconds after it disappeared, he heard the tapping again. Now that he was right up against the glass, it sounded like the tapping was coming from below somewhere. He looked down. There was about 20 feet between the bottom of the Megalodon holding area and the underground viewing area. Jacob could easily see what the tapping noise was now. The baby Megalodon had been striking against the cement under the viewing area. It was ramming into it over and over again, while its mother continued to swim by. Jacob guessed that the larger shark was attempting to protect her offspring. He continued to look down, watching the smaller Meg hit the concrete. It might have been the baby, but it was still big enough to scare Jacob.

While he was watching it, he didn't notice that its mother was coming, at full speed, straight toward the viewing area. He finally saw some movement in front of him and looked up, just in time, to see the adult Meg's giant snout come crashing into the glass. It hit with such force, that the glass gave away and water rushed into the underground floor of the Visitors Center. Jacob dove to the left, as shards of very think glass were tossed around the room.

Smith was still on the ground, having a hard time getting up. The water rushed over him and a shard of glass struck him in the side of the head, throwing him backwards. The glass had completely sheared off his right ear and there was blood flowing down the side of his head. He reached a hand up to where the pain was coming from, and when he realized he was missing an ear, he started to panic.

Jacob saw what happened to Smith, but didn't try to help him. He was still in the corner, holding onto a railing, as the water rushed over him. The ceiling was about 20 feet high and the water had already reached about the halfway point. Jacob forced himself to get up and fight the current. He needed to get to the door. As he looked toward the door, he suddenly heard a siren. The door, to his horror, was closing. It was a safety mechanism, to seal off the room from the rest of the Visitors Center. For some reason, the siren had gone off late, which was a good thing for Jacob. He had a chance to get to the door, before it closed and sealed his fate. He attempted to make a straight path to the door, but the forceful water kept pushing him in an unwanted direction.

Smith had managed to seek shelter behind a register counter, as the water continued to power its way into the room. He was bleeding very badly and was hunched down, almost ready to pass out. The water was getting very high and over his head, as his body began to float up with the rising water. He was getting more and more frightened, as he felt his mind drifting away.

Jacob had made it to the door, but the effort left him very exhausted. The water was all the way to his neck, as he reached the door. He managed to squeeze through, before the door finally sealed shut. He stood, with his back against the door, trying to catch his breath and recharge. As he closed his eyes, he heard a different kind of noise, coming from the room he had just escaped. He quickly turned around, looked through the long glass window in the door, and saw something that he didn't expect. The baby Megalodon had made its way through the giant hole in the underwater viewing area, that its mother had made, and was swimming in the sealed up room. It was swimming methodically, looking for the scent of blood that it had picked up on. Jacob watched in awe, as the 20 foot prehistoric shark did its best to maneuver around all of the unfamiliar man made obstacles.

Smith was out now, as the baby Meg came closer to the blood source. Jacob watched from the safety of the other side. He thought about pounding on the door and trying to wake Smith up, but he figured that it would be a better idea if the doomed man didn't know what was about to happen to him. He watched, as the baby Meg was finally able to find what it was looking for. It circled around its prey, and then, with a quick movement, thrust at Smith with its jaws open wide. It was able to clamp down on half of the man, taking his entire upper body into its mouth. After a quick feeding, the baby Meg went for the rest of its meal.

Jacob looked away, as the baby Meg finished off Smith. He hid his body from view and, after a few seconds, decided to look again. He caught sight of its tail, as it pushed its way back through the hole in the underwater viewing area, disappearing into the murky water. Jacob stopped himself from shaking, and then headed up to the first floor of the Visitors Center.

He ran up the stairs and sprinted across the first floor, all the way to the side door. He wanted out of the Visitors Center, and that's all that was on his mind at the moment. He reached for the door handle, turned it, and jerked the door open. He didn't even see the two men on the other side of the door, as he ran directly into Bodan. Bodan was almost thrown to the ground.

"What the hell are you doing, Jacob?"

Jacob was still very much out of breath. He looked at Bodan, and then noticed that Mr. Envoy was with him. He tried to relax a little bit, as he explained the best that he could.

"The baby Meg had broken through one of the underwater viewing areas. Smith is dead. Grant and the others got away, and Ethan is on their side now."

Bodan nodded. That just about summed up the entire situation. He was afraid to look at Envoy, but he forced himself to anyway. Envoy was staring at Jacob, in a confused manner.

"Ethan is working for the other side?"

Bodan couldn't believe that Envoy was only concerned with the information about Ethan. He tried his best not to get angry, as that would just make things worse.

"Yes, sir," Bodan answered, as he thought about what to do next. "Jacob, did the room seal?"

"Yes, it did. I almost didn't get out."

"Okay, good," Bodan said. He looked at Envoy. "Mr. Envoy, we should get to the Main Control Room. We should be able to monitor and handle everything from there, sir."

"Very well, then, Patrick. Thank you."

Bodan nodded as the three men got back into the awaiting jeep.


	34. Chapter 34: An Unexpected Call

_Chapter 34: An Unexpected Call_

  


John Hammond smiled, as the phone finally rang. He picked it up eagerly.

"Hello. Hammond here."

"Mr. Hammond, it's Roy. I've arrived at our destination, sir. Do you want me to go in?"

"Is he home?"

"Yes, sir. He's home and it looks like he's drinking."

Just as Hammond was about to continue with his conversation, Henry walked in. He hurriedly walked over to Hammond's desk, with a very large smile on his face. Hammond noticed his excitement.

"Roy, can you hold for just a minute. I have something urgent to tend to."

"Sure, Mr. Hammond. I'll stand by."

Hammond put Roy on hold, and then looked quizzically at Henry. Henry was beyond happy.

"Sir, line 3. It's Alan Grant."

Hammond had been sitting down, which was really good, because if he had been standing, he would have surely fell down. He quickly picked the phone back up and pushed line 3.

"Alan?"

"Yes, John."

"Oh, my heavens. Am I glad to finally talk to you! Have you found Lex and Tim?"

"Yeah, we did. And Jodie, too. We're all together and safe, for now."

"That is such a giant relief. Where are you? Can you safely talk?"

"Ethan is here with us and he says its safe to talk. We're heading to the lodge. We plan on sleeping there tonight, and then we're going to make our way to the West Dock."

"Good, good. I'll send a team to get you out. What time?"

Alan was quiet for a minute, as Hammond could hear him talking to the others.

"How's 11:00am for you, John?"

Hammond laughed.

"Eleven is fine. Someone will be there at 11:00am, on the West Dock."

"Ethan says that the computer system goes down for about 15 minutes, between 11:00am and 11:15am, so that would be the best time to meet. That way, they won't be able to detect a rescue party."

"Sounds good. And by the way, how is young Ethan doing?"

"He's fine, John. He saved our lives. All of us," Alan answered.

Hammond smiled, as he realized that he had, indeed, picked the right man for the job. He was pleased that Ethan had come through with such flying colors. When he had told Ian about Ethan being on the island, Ian had been very angry at first, which was to be expected. But after a careful explanation, Ian had realized that it was Ethan who had wanted to go. It had been Ethan who had initially contacted Hammond, when Daniel had hired him to work the park systems. He had volunteered to gather evidence against Envoy. After a lot of convincing, he had finally succeeded in talking Hammond into the idea.

"Alan, please be careful. I'll have somewhere there precisely at 11:00am."

"I will, John. And don't worry, everyone is all right."

"Thank God," Hammond sighed with relief.

"You want to talk to Tim and Lex?"

"Of course, if you have the time."

"Ethan says we have about one minute left, before the signal can be traced."

There was a slight pause, and then Hammond heard Tim's voice.

"Tim, I am so glad that you're okay. I'm sending a rescue team in the morning."

"I know, Grandpa. Thank you very much. I expected nothing less than that, sir."

Hammond was about to say something, when he heard Lex's voice.

"Grandpa, I only have about 20 seconds. I just wanted to say thank you and that I love you."

"I love you, too, dear," Hammond said, his eyes tearing up.

"Okay, good bye, Grandpa. I'll see you in the morning."

Hammond heard the phone click, and then a few seconds later, there was a dial tone. He hung the phone up and looked at Henry. He grabbed a sheet of paper and quickly jotted down all of the details of the rescue mission and handed it to Henry.

"Please, Henry. Get this information to our team on the Baja Peninsula, as soon as humanly possible."

"Yes, sir," Henry said, taking the paper.

"And Henry. Make sure they know how important the 11:00am pick up is. They only have a 15 minute window before the computer system comes back up."

"Yes, sir. I will."

Hammond watched Henry walk out of the room. He sat there quietly for a few minutes, gathering all of his thoughts. He suddenly remembered that Roy was on line 1. He picked the phone back up and pushed line 1.

"Roy?"

"Yes, sir."

"Oh, good, you waited. Go in there. Go in there and explain to Mr. Degler, the terms of his . . . what should we call it? The terms of his surrender."

"Yes, sir. I'll call you back when I'm finished."

"I would expect nothing less, Roy."

"Yes, sir," Roy said, hanging up the phone.

Hammond sat in his office chair, smiling in a broad manner.

  


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Roy got out of his rented car and walked up the driveway to Ellie and Mark's home. He reached the front door and knocked.

Mark was sitting in his kitchen. He was slightly intoxicated, as he was talking into the phone.

"Look, I don't care what you have to do, or what it might cost me. Figure out where my children are. Figure out where my psycho of a wife ran off to, and do it NOW!"

He heard the persistent knocking, and finally got up.

"Look, I'll have to call you back. You're worthless really anyway. I've offered to pay you a LOT of money to simply find out where my wife is. I'm giving up hope."

He slammed the phone down and walked to the door. He could see the silhouette of a man outside. A very large man.

"Who is it?"

"I'm Roy Rogers, sir. From the John Hammond Foundation."

Mark laughed at the man's name and began to whisper things to himself, as he fiddled with the locks.

"Roy Rogers . . . where's Trigger?" Mark whispered, laughing to himself.

He opened the door, clearly not thinking about the important name that the stranger had mentioned. As soon as Roy had access to the house, he pushed his way through, knocking Mark to the ground.

"Mr. Degler. I'm here to make you an offer you can't refuse," he said, grinning.

"What is this? What is going on?"

Mark had been a little tipsy before he had opened the door, but now he was almost feeling completely sober.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Let me start over," Roy said, leaning down to pick Mark up.

Mark was easily handled by the large man. Roy was about 6'6" and pure muscle. Hammond seemed to hire a lot of men with those same size qualifications.

"I'm Roy. You're Mark. And we're going to do business together."

Roy made a fist and punched Mark square in the jaw, dazing him and knocking him down again. Mark looked up, as he held his jaw.

"I don't understand."

"Want me to explain again?"

"NO! No, please."

"You're a smart man, Mr. Degler. I'm sure you can figure out what's going on here."

Mark was scared to death. He was beyond scared, as he was sure this man was going to kill him.

"What do you want from me?" He asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

Roy reached a hand into the inside of his jacket. Mark, who thought he was going for a gun, screamed.

"Please, oh God, please, don't kill me. I'll give you anything!"

Roy laughed as he pulled his hand out of his jacket and revealed an envelope. He threw it to the ground, letting it land near Mark.

"I think that all of the details of our deal are included in that envelope, Mr. Degler."

Mark was very confused, but also very happy that Roy didn't have a gun. He reached for the envelope and opened it. There was about a dozen papers in the envelope and Mark started to scan the paper on the top, all the while trying to keep an eye on Roy.

"Oh, by all means, I won't interrupt your reading material."

Mark nodded and took a closer look. The top six papers consisted of a listing of arrests and parole violations for someone named Mark Hendricks from Montreal, Canada. Mark looked up at Roy.

"I guess this would be a good time to call you Mr. Hendricks?" He asked, smiling.

Mark had previously gone by the name Hendricks, up until about 8 years ago. Back in 1994, Mark Hendricks had been arrested numerous times for spouse abuse. Then in 1995, he had finally been arrested for the murder of his wife. He had claimed it was self defense. He had said that she had come after him with a shovel and so he had shot her, killing her. He was able to somehow escape, before the trial even started, but it went on without him. The verdict came in against him, and he was to spend the rest of his life in prison, after he was apprehended. He had taken special care, not to get into very much trouble since then, to keep a low profile. But he had been reverting back to his old self lately and had started to abuse yet another unsuspecting spouse, in Ellie. After reading through the papers in his hands, he knew he had finally been caught.

"What do you want?"

"Well, Mr. Hendricks, that is very simple. Everything."

Mark swallowed uneasily, as Roy continued to stare at him.


	35. Chapter 35: Rekindled Love Author Favor...

_Chapter 35: Rekindled Love_

  


** Author's Note: This is one of my favorite chapters :)

  
  


Ethan and Ian were leading the group. They had finally reached the lodge. Jodie smiled, as she recognized the area.

"I know where we are. There's a restaurant, right next to this lodge. And the restaurant is near the underground tunnel," Jodie said.

"Yes, you are correct," Ethan said, smiling. "Boy, you really memorized this place, didn't you?"

Jodie smiled, clearly happy that Ethan had noticed.

"Restaurant?" Ellie asked.

Jodie nodded enthusiastically. All of them were starving. Ian looked at Alan.

"Sounds good to me," Alan said.

"We really need to get inside and get situated. I know you're probably all very hungry, but we need to get inside. I think I have some food stashed up there."

"Okay. The restaurant is out. Let's get in there," Ian decided.

They continued to walk around the lodge, trying to go in the front doors. As they rounded the corner, they could see that the lodge was shaped like a horseshoe, with the "opening" of the horseshoe facing them. It was five stories high. There was a very elaborate circular driveway constructed right in front of it, along with some giant, full-size dinosaur sculptures scattered around. The seven of them walked up the driveway and finally reached the lobby entrance. Alan tried the door. It was unlocked. Ethan cleared his throat, stopping Alan.

"If the door is unlocked, then there could be something in there. It's a possibility and I just wanted to warn you."

"I doubt if anything can make it to this side of the island, Ethan," Ellie said.

"Well, just in case, you can go first," Ian said to Alan.

"Gee, thanks," Alan said, smiling.

Alan began to go inside, with Ian right behind him.

"Anytime," Ian said, and then he whispered so that only Alan could hear him. "If anything happens to you, I'll take care of Ellie. Don't worry."

Alan shook his head and went all the way inside the building. The rest of them followed. As they all entered the building, they started to form two clusters of people. Ethan, Ellie and Jodie were right behind Alan, while Tim and Lex were closer to Ian. Tim and Ian were assisting Lex, since she was noticeably limping again.

As they explored the lodge, Alan was thinking that it was just too quiet. He walked around carefully, expecting to run into something. To his delight, they didn't run into anything. He looked at Ian.

"What time is it?"

"Nearly midnight," he answered.

"Time for bed," Jodie said. "I'm exhausted."

"Yeah, me, too," Lex said. "I need to rest my leg."

Everyone nodded in agreement. Ellie looked up one of the many staircases.

"Ethan, which floor were you planning on?"

"The top floor. The fifth floor."

They began to walk up the staircase. Tim didn't think his sister would be able to walk that far up.

"Couldn't we use an elevator?" He asked.

"Not really. The cameras are out, but they might somehow have the elevator movement monitored. We shouldn't take a chance," Ethan said.

"But I don't think Lex will---" 

"It's okay. I can do it," Lex interrupted him.

She didn't want to be a burden to the rest of the group. She knew Tim meant well, but he was making her feel silly, like a little baby.

The seven of them made it up the stairs, and reached the fifth floor. Alan and Lex stopped to rest for a minute. The others cautiously continued on a little ways. Ellie turned around.

"Are you going to make it?" Ellie asked Alan.

"Oh, yeah," he said, looking at Lex. "The wounded need a rest . . . and some drugs."

Ellie smiled, nodded, and followed Ian and the others.

Alan was out of breath, as his shoulder was really beginning to bother him again. Lex wasn't doing much better. She noticed a water fountain nearby, so she reached into her pocket and opened the Darvocet bottle. She handed one to Alan. She took hers first, and then moved out of his way, as he took a long drink from the fountain. He thanked her and she smiled, as she leaned on him a little bit. The two of them walked down the long hallway, catching up to the others.

There were rooms on both sides of the hallway. Ethan found the number he was looking for and opened the door. It looked like the correct room, so he went inside. Tim was right behind him. They quickly split up and searched the room. They came back to the door and motioned everyone inside. Ian and Ellie walked into the room, followed by Alan and Lex, who were caught up by now.

There were two double beds in the main room, and then two more double beds in an attached room.

"I guess there are already four beds. I didn't realize that. Sorry," Ethan said.

"Everyone makes mistakes," Ian said.

"Here's some good news, though. The water works. Everyone can take a hot shower," Ethan said.

"Really? That is wonderful," Ellie said.

"Yes, and I can get Alan's laceration cleaned up," Lex said.

Alan didn't like that idea. It sounded like it might hurt. He waved her off, but it didn't work. She was able, with Ellie's help, to get him into the bathroom. Lex cleaned out the wound, and left the bandage off, so that the wound could get some air while he was asleep. Alan talked them into leaving him alone, while he freshened up, using the hotel provided toothpaste and soap.

When he came out, Ellie was already in one of the beds in the room connected to the bathroom. Lex was standing near the bathroom door, waiting her turn to get in. He walked up to where Ellie was and sat next to the bed, smiling at her. He glanced over at Jodie, who was already fast asleep in the other bed. Then he focused back on Ellie.

"How you doing?" He whispered, as he gently touched her hand.

"I'm okay, I think. I'm a lot better, now that I know you're all right."

"I've never been better," he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

He made Ellie laugh, which made him happy. She had been through so much of a life change, the last couple of days. He just wanted her to be happy. Ellie noticed a strange look on his face.

"Something wrong?"

"No."

"Yes there is. I know you too well, Alan. You can't hide things from me. You should know that by now."

"Yeah, I guess you do," he said, pointing at her. "I was just thinking about the past . . . and how I could of . . . no . . . should of . . . done things differently."

"There's no need to blame yourself for anything that happened to me."

"No. I think you're wrong there, Ellie. If I wasn't so damned dead-set against kids and marriage, you would have never left. You would have never met Mark."

"It's not your fault. Really. It isn't."

"Yes. Yes, it is."

"Alan, don't make me slap you silly."

He laughed, just as she had hoped he would. She desperately wanted to get away from the serious subject matter. She waited a few more seconds, and then she officially changed the subject.

"So, where are you going to sleep?"

Alan looked around.

"I'm not sure. Where are Tim, Ethan and Ian?"

"In the other room. Using up all the available beds already."

"Well, I'll sleep with Jodie."

"Why don't you sleep with me?"

Alan looked at her strangely, yet again. Ellie laughed at the double meaning of the sentence she just spoke out loud.

"I mean, you can share the bed." 

"Yeah, I know what you mean."

"No, you didn't."

"Did to."

"Come on, Alan," she said, patting the bed next to her in the same manner as in Vegas, "Let's get some sleep. Lex can bunk with Jodie."

"You're the boss," he said, more to himself than anyone else.

He went around to the left side of the bed, pausing for a second longer. Ellie looked up at him and smiled, and that's when Ian entered the room.

"Uh, what's going on here, kids?"

Alan didn't answer. He just stared at him. Ellie could have smacked Ian for his bad timing, but she smiled at him instead.

"Just trying to figure out the sleeping arrangements," she explained.

Ian nodded, yawned and looked around the room.

"Where's Lex?"

"Shower," Alan answered, as he continued to stand between the two beds.

"Oh, I see. Well, uh, I'm turning in. See you two in the morning."

Ian began to walk to the door that adjoined the rooms together, but then he stopped and turned around.

"And that rule from earlier still stands, you guys. No funny business," he said, snickering.

Alan was about to respond, when Ellie whispered his name. He immediately looked in her direction.

"Let's get some sleep."

Alan nodded and got into the bed. He quickly adjusted the covers around himself and Ellie. The bed was a lot smaller than the king size bed they had shared in Las Vegas, so they were forced into getting very close. Ellie's left shoulder was pressed up against his right side.

"I'm glad you're okay," she whispered to him.

"I'm glad you're okay, too," he whispered back, as she reached for his hand.

He held her hand in his, as they attempted to get some well-deserved rest.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


Most everyone was sound asleep on the fifth floor of the lodge. Ethan had made it possible for the bathrooms, in the rooms on both sides of them, to be used also. Everyone was able to quickly clean up and go to sleep. Everyone except Ellie. After Ian's teasing, she could think of nothing else besides the man sleeping so close to her.

It was now about 1:30am and Ellie was the only one still awake. She sat up and looked at Alan. She could see him very well, even though it was dark. The moonlight was shining through the window just perfectly. He was sound asleep on his back, with his left shoulder slightly propped up with a pillow that she had provided earlier. She looked at his shoulder and the giant rip in his shirt, where Lex had cut it. There was dried blood splattered all around. Even in a sound sleep, he looked like he was in pain.

She gently placed her hand on his chest. It was her broken hand, so she was very careful not to hurt herself. He didn't wake up, so she positioned herself where she could lay on his right shoulder. He still didn't wake up, so she tried her luck again, by wrapping her arm around him, wincing slightly, as she used her broken wrist. She wanted desperately to get some sleep, but she couldn't stop thinking about him. She was torn between wanting to wake him, to talk, but she knew that she should try to go to sleep.

She moved her arm slightly, making him gently move back and forth. He winced and woke up.

"Sorry, if I hurt you," she whispered.

She looked around, to make sure no one else was awake. Lex and Jodie were sharing the bed next to them. Ethan, Ian and Tim were sleeping in the main room, in the two other double beds. The girls were still sound asleep. When she looked back down, Alan was staring at her.

"You okay?" He whispered.

Ellie knew exactly what she wanted. She just wasn't sure how to go about it, without looking silly. She just played it by heart.

"I need to tell you something," she whispered.

"What is it?" He whispered.

She acted, just as the sentence came out of his mouth. She leaned down, putting her face very close to his. She caught a glimpse of the look on his face. He looked very surprised. She smiled, closed her eyes, and leaned in even closer. She kissed him passionately. And to her sheer joy, he returned the kiss. She tightened her grip around him, as they continued to kiss, getting more and more into the moment. Alan embraced her, and then they finally came up for air. Ellie suddenly felt alive again.

"I love you, Alan," she said, looking deep into his eyes.

Alan responded without hesitating.

"I love you, too," he whispered.

There was a long pause, as Alan held onto Ellie. They never took their eyes away from one another.

"I've never stopped loving you," he whispered.

Ellie smiled. She was so happy, and relieved, to hear those words. He had said the most perfect thing to her. The one thing she longed to hear from him. She was overcome with joy. She wanted nothing more than to act upon her feelings, right now. But she knew this wasn't the time or place. She looked around the room.

"If only we were alone," she sighed.

Alan smiled, as he thought about what they could most definitely be doing right now.

"We'll have plenty of time to be alone, when we get back to the states," he whispered.

"Back to Montana," she whispered.

Alan looked surprised, yet again.

"Montana?"

"Yeah. Me, you, Charlie, and Samantha. What do you say?"

"I say . . . yes," he whispered. "Of course."

Ellie smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder again.

"Good night, Alan."

"Good night," he whispered.

Ellie closed her eyes, completely satisfied with her life at that very moment. She fell asleep, holding onto the man that she loved and would spend the rest of her life with.


	36. Chapter 36: Isla Norte TV

_Chapter 36: Isla Norte TV_

  


Marcus Envoy was the last one to wake up, after a very long night. He looked up and saw Daniel typing on his laptop computer. He looked at the clock on the table. It was 5:06am. Envoy, Bodan, Jacob and Daniel had called it a night and stayed at the employee section of the lodge, on the second floor. The same lodge Alan and company were in. Neither party knew of one another.

"What are you doing, Daniel?"

"Checking park integrity, Mr. Envoy. I want to make sure nothing has escaped, or that Ethan didn't change things again."

Envoy was still shocked about Ethan. He wanted to get Daniel's take on the whole thing.

"What would make young Ethan betray us?"

Daniel was about to try to provide a noteworthy answer, when Jacob spoke up. He was on the other side of the room, getting some guns ready.

"He seemed to know Ian Malcolm. I think he has been working for Hammond the entire time," Jacob said.

"Well, that is just unforgivable, if true," Envoy said.

Bodan had been out in the hallway. He walked in, just catching the last part of the conversation.

"Ethan will pay, Mr. Envoy. I can assure you of that."

Envoy nodded.

  


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While asleep on the fifth floor of the lodge, Ellie was having another dream. This time, though, it wasn't a nightmare, like it had routinely been. This time it was pleasant. She was dreaming about the first time her mother had met Alan Grant:

  


_Ellie had been dating Alan for about three months at that point, and had finally talked Alan into having dinner with her mother, Patricia. Alan had talked to Ellie's mother on the phone twice, and he was very aware that she did not want Ellie to have anything to do with him. She had actually told him personally, that she thought he was too old for her daughter and that teachers shouldn't take advantage of their students in that way. Understandably, Alan was not looking forward to the in person meeting, but Ellie had convinced him that it was the right thing to do. For some reason, Alan was frightened of Patricia. Ellie had figured that her mother had said a lot more things to him. Things that he just neglected to mention to her._

  


Ellie stirred once, smiling in her sleep, as the dream continued.__

  


_ Now she was at the restaurant with Alan. Her mother had been late, so she and Alan sat at the reserved table, waiting. Since her mother was flying in, just for the occasion, Alan had let Patricia pick the restaurant. She had picked the second most expensive restaurant in all of Montana. Ellie tried to protest, knowing that Alan had insisted on paying before he even knew where they were going, but Alan had told her not to worry. She watched him look nervously around, as they waited . . . and waited. Finally, her mother showed up, about 30 minutes late. Alan had quickly gotten up, to assist Patricia with her chair. Her mother's response was civil and courteous, but somewhat standoffish. Ellie could see that she was having a very pleasant time making Alan nervous. After about an hour, Ellie could see that her mother was warming up to him slowly. Very slowly, as she could see the whole ordeal was torture to poor Alan, but she decided to let the two of them sort it out. Eventually, they did sort it out, and Alan was magically able to become one of Patricia's favorite people. _

  


Ellie smiled in her sleep again, as she was coming to the good part. She fondly remembered this as being when her mother had started to like him.__

  


_ They were about ready to leave the restaurant, and Alan had stood up to assist Patricia with her chair. An unsuspecting waiter ran into him with a tray full of food, hitting him in the head with it. Alan had fallen down, and soon after, all the food on the tray came falling down on top of him. Ellie could still hear him yelling._

_ "Ouch! What the . . . ? Hey!"_

_ Still dreaming, she remembered looking over at her mother. Patricia was laughing. She was laughing so hard, she hard tears in her eyes. The waiter, totally embarrassed by what had just happened, simply ran away back into the kitchen. Ellie had helped Alan up, and when the two of them had looked at each other, with her mother laughing in the background, they started to laugh, too. Then, Ellie heard Alan again._

  


"Ouch!"

Ellie woke up, as she realized that Alan wasn't talking in her dream. He was really saying ouch. She sat up in the bed, stretched out a little bit, and was reminded immediately about her hand hurting. She winced, as she got up from the bed and headed to the bathroom, which was where Alan's voice was coming from. She reached the open door of the bathroom and peered inside. Lex was already awake and she was taking another look at Alan's shoulder. Ellie watched, as Lex pressed and examined all around the wound, making Alan mad . . . again.

"Ouch. Will you stop that? I'm fine."

"I just wanted to check for an infection," Lex said, continuing the examination.

"Quit being a baby," Ellie interrupted.

Alan looked up and saw Ellie standing in the doorway. He instantly smiled at her, in that warm and loving way that he used to, all those years ago. Then his mood changed some.

"Oh, hey, look at that," he said, glancing at Lex, "now you can examine Ellie, and leave me alone."

Lex shook her head.

"Okay, okay, you can go. Just let me put a new bandage on that."

Ellie watched Lex bandage Alan up, and then he quickly got up and walked into the bathroom doorway. He stopped right next to her. She looked up at him, and when she did, he quickly kissed her.

"Good morning, sunshine," he said quietly.

Ellie smiled, her arms crossed in an attempt to stop her hand from hurting.

"Good morning," she whispered back.

Lex was still in the bathroom. She had watched Alan kiss her. As Ellie came into the bathroom, Lex laughed.

"I guess you two got along very well last night."

Ellie had already been smiling, but she somehow managed to smile even more.

"You could say that, yes."

Lex laughed again.

"Well, let's get your hand fixed up. Ethan brought me some medical supplies. He and Ian had gone out to do something with the computer control rooms earlier, and when they came back, he handed me a first aid kit."

"Where did they go?"

"They went to turn off some of the park systems and reboot them. And Ian said they also did something to every jeep that they found along the way."

"Any idea what?"

"No, Ian didn't have a clue. He said Ethan had attached something to the inside of the glove compartments."

Ellie was impressed.

"That's great. It seems that Ethan thought of everything. What a bright kid," Ellie said.

"And good looking, too," Lex added.

Ellie laughed.

"And he's just about your age."

"Yeah."

Ellie noticed that Lex was looking a little uncomfortable about the subject, so she changed it.

"So, what can you do for my hand?"

"I've got a hand splint here. Let's try that."

Alan walked back into the bedroom, moving his arm around, checking for mobility. It was healing very well. He was very lucky to have Lex. Holding his shoulder, he sat down on the side of Jodie's bed. She was still sound asleep. He reached over and gently shook her awake.

"Hey, Jodie. Rise and shine," he said.

Jodie opened her eyes, looked around the room, and then rested them on Alan.

"What time is it?" She asked, groggily.

"5:30am," he answered.

Jodie sat up.

"Are you crazy? 5:30am? Why are we up so early?"

Alan laughed.

"I get up everyday by this time. This is not too early."

"Oh, man. You are crazy," Jodie said, snickering and stretching.

Alan ignored that last remark.

"Well, now that you're up, I'm going to see what Ian, Ethan and Tim are doing," Alan said, getting up slowly.

"Yeah, okay," Jodie said, laying back down.

Alan looked back at Jodie.

"Get up. I don't want to have to pull you out of bed."

"Okay, okay. I'm up. I'm up," Jodie said, getting out of the bed.

Alan smiled.

"Good. The shower is empty. Go use it."

Jodie laughed.

"You sound like a dad."

Alan shook his head, and then went into the next room. Ian was the only one in the room and he watching television. He looked up, as he saw Alan come into the room.

"Did you know that on Isla Norte, you can get Triceratops rides?"

"What?"

Ian pointed to the television.

"Yeah, according to this station here, you can ride a real live Triceratops . . . for a very big fee, I'm guessing."

Alan laughed. He walked over to Ian, and the two of them watched the television. In the lower right hand corner of the screen, were the words Isla Norte TV.

"Do we get any other channels?" Alan asked.

"Nope. This is it, I'm afraid," Ian answered.

"Where's Ethan and Tim?"

"Ethan is on the balcony, doing something with the laptop. He said he needed to be outside. Tim is taking a shower."

Alan nodded. They continued to watch Isla Norte TV in silence, for about 10 minutes.

Ethan was on the balcony, making some final tweaks on a program that he had written. If all went well, when he executed the program, he would get complete control of the Isla Norte computers. He had been working on it, almost from the time he started working for Daniel, about five months. Everything was ready to go. He came back into the room and handed a walkie talkie to Ian and Alan.

"I'm sorry, but I only have three walkie talkies. I wasn't expecting to need any more than that."

Alan and Ian nodded.

"This should be enough," Ian said.

Ethan nodded.

"Okay, everything is set. At 6:00am, I'm going to take over the computers."

Tim was out of the shower now and dressed, watching the television with Ian and Alan. All three of them looked at Ethan.

"How?" Ian asked.

"I've written a program. It's long and complicated . . . and probably a very boring topic. It should override the entire park system, taking away any control that Daniel has."

"Wow. Impressive," Lex said from the doorway of the other room.

Ethan turned and smiled at her.

"Thank you."

Ethan walked back out to the balcony and Lex followed. She turned to look at Alan.

"I looked at Jodie's leg. It's fine. I bandaged it up for her."

Alan nodded and smiled, as Lex went to the balcony. Tim was closest to the balcony and he could hear Ethan and his sister talking about computers. He didn't understand much of what they were saying, but it was quite impressive. Tim looked at Alan. 

"Well, at least she has someone to admire, besides you."

Alan nodded and walked back into the other room. Jodie was sitting at the small table in the room, all cleaned up, looking through a copy of National Geographic Magazine that was in the room. Ellie was just coming from the bathroom, fully dressed. Everyone was ready to go. Alan looked at the clock on the table. It said 5:48am. In twelve minutes, everything was going to change, hopefully, for the better.


	37. Chapter 37: System Malfunction

_Chapter 37: System Malfunction_

  


Daniel was checking a few park systems, when suddenly the computer screen went blank.

"What the hell?"

Daniel checked to see if the laptop had somehow gotten unplugged. It was plugged in. As he was trying to figure out what had happened, he noticed that the power meter was still in the lower right hand corner of the screen. The computer was still running, but the entire Isla Norte program was gone. Bodan approached him.

"What is it?"

"The system . . . the system shut down."

"Well, bring it back up."

Daniel looked at Bodan. He had an idea of what had happened to the system, and he knew that Bodan would never understand.

"It's not that easy."

Bodan came closer to Daniel, watching the computer whiz type frantically. Daniel was able to make it into the system BIOS, but couldn't get any farther.

"I think Ethan may have done something. None of my passwords will work."

Jacob had gotten up by now, and was making his way over to Daniel and Bodan. He had a rifle in his hand, swinging it by his side.

"Can't you just fix it?"

Daniel realized that he was the only computer literate person in the room.

"I don't know. I'm working on it."

Envoy stood up.

"Okay, okay, boys. Give Daniel some room, so that he can work out the problems," Envoy said, interrupting.

Bodan and Jacob backed up away from Daniel, as Daniel kept on typing. He tried to follow Ethan's footsteps over the last few hours. Ethan had physically shut down the power in both the Main Control Room and Control Room 2, and then had restarted. This made it impossible for Daniel to bring up any files. After about 15 minutes went by, he looked at his employer and finally spoke.

"Mr. Envoy. Ethan has ran his own program over the top of mine. But he hasn't yet physically turned off the power in Control Room 3, so if I can get there, I'll be able to . . . hopefully get into the computer there and re-install my program over the top of his."

Envoy nodded and looked at Jacob and Bodan.

"One of you should go with him," he said.

Bodan volunteered. He stocked up on firearms and left the room. Daniel grabbed two walkie talkies and quickly followed him. They went down the stairs, to the first floor, and out through the large glass doors. Bodan found the jeep that they had left there, the night before. There were two other jeeps there, as well. They got into it, with Bodan in the driver's seat. He started it, and then he swore, as he started to feel drops of rain coming down on him. For the time of morning, it was darker than usual. The sky was a hazy kind of gray, as a summer storm approached the island.

  


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Alan and company had made it out of the room. Everyone was in good spirits, knowing that they were to be rescued in less than five hours. Ethan made his way to the front of the group to get their attention.

"Okay, I've written down all the instructions to turn the power off to Control Room 3, and then how to reboot the systems and load my program into memory," Ethan said, handing everyone a sheet of paper.

Alan nodded, as he took the paper. He folded it and put it in a pocket. Everyone else did the same.

"And on the back, is how to open the Pterodactyl Aviary."

"Why would we want to open that?" Lex asked.

"I've attached a high frequency bird repeller to all of the jeeps. Dr. Wu had told me that the device makes the Pterodactyls go crazy with anger. They attack anything close to the device, so I'm hoping that either Bodan or Jacob will try to take a jeep to Control Room 3, after Daniel figures out what I've done."

"Good idea. But won't that just be freeing the Pterodactyls?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah, but they don't like very many foods, so I'm hoping that they'll come back to feed. Dr. Wu said they had gotten out once before, when they were smaller. All four of them came back after about a day."

"So, you're going on that? You're just hoping they come back? Wonder if they get free and decide to attack some helpless person on the mainland?" Alan asked.

"Well, we're just going to have to hope for the best. It's the only option I could think of. Bodan is going to have guns and brawn on his side, so I thought I'd even the odds up a little."

Alan nodded.

"Good point. I'm beginning to understand now," he said.

Ethan smiled.

"So, if something should happen to me, someone has to get to that control room and shut it down, " he added.

"I think we need to stay optimistic, Ethan," Ian said.

"You? Optimistic? Wow," Alan said, surprised by Ian's remark.

Ellie hit Alan in the arm. Ian smiled.

"Maybe I'm evolving," Ian commented.

"Maybe we all are," Ellie added, looking at Alan.

Alan smiled. They continued their way down to the first floor of the lodge. Lex was the slowest getting down the stairs again, and this time Alan and Ethan were helping her. Tim laughed to himself, as he watched his sister get assistance from both her first crush and her current one. Ian was in the lead, with Ellie and Jodie right behind him. Jodie was carrying the precious laptop computer. Alan, Lex and Ethan were following behind, with Tim heading up the rear. Ian made his way to the main entrance of the lodge, and opened the giant glass door.

With the door open, the sound of a jeep running could be heard. Ethan tried to warn Ian to close the door back, but he had already done so on his own. It was already too late, though. Bodan had spotted them. He fired off several shots in the air, letting them know he had seen them. When he realized that they weren't surrendering, he started to shoot into the building. The giant glass door shattered, as bullets began whizzing by in every direction.

"What are you doing?" Daniel yelled, ducking in the jeep.

"Capturing them alive is no longer important, Daniel. We need to simply stop them from getting away now. There's no more time for messing around."

"But Mr. Envoy wouldn't ---"

"I don't care. Shut up and get out of the jeep, Daniel."

Daniel was very afraid of Bodan, so he did what he was told. Bodan was already running toward the front entrance of the lodge. Daniel ran after him. Bodan slowed down, as he reached the door. He looked at Daniel.

"Stay here for a minute. Radio Envoy and tell him to send Jacob down here quickly. When you're finished, come back in here."

"Okay," Daniel said, putting the walkie talkie to his mouth.

"Oh, and Daniel?" Bodan asked. Daniel looked up at him. "Get a damn gun from the jeep before you wander in here."

Daniel nodded, as Bodan went into the lodge cautiously, his gun drawn.

When Bodan started shooting at the glass doors, it forced the group to split up. Glass was flying everywhere, when Alan grabbed Ellie and pushed her to the left. Ethan pushed Lex and Jodie to the right, and Ian followed them. Tim just dove to the ground, as a stray bullet hit him. Lex saw her brother hit the floor, holding his neck.

"Timmy!" She yelled.

Ian turned around to see Tim on the floor. He hurried to him, but as he did he yelled to Ethan.

"Get Jodie and Lex out of here!"

Ethan nodded and quickly urged Lex into moving. She did, with a little protest, but she knew they had to take cover. Bodan was most likely coming in after them. Ethan had taken the laptop from Jodie, and thought that she was following them. She wasn't. She was just standing there, in disbelief, as she watched Ian get to Tim.

Ian bent down to check on the young boy.

"You okay?"

Tim looked up at him. Ian could see that he was bleeding from the neck, but it didn't look too serious.

"I think I've been shot," Tim said in shock.

"I see that, but it looks as though it's just a graze. There's no real damage."

"You sure? It hurts like hell," Tim said.

"Pretty sure. Come on. Let's get out of here before Bodan crashes the party."

Tim nodded and let Ian help him up. They quickly made their way to the right, following where Ethan and Lex had gone. Ian had turned Jodie around and persuaded her to go in a nice manner. She nodded, giving him no trouble.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


Alan and Ellie ran to one of the side entrances on the west side of the lodge. As Alan was running, he heard Ian's voice on the walkie talkie, that was attached to his belt. On the run, he grabbed it and pushed the button down.

"Yeah?"

"Alan. Ethan and Lex are on their way to the third floor. Tim, Jodie and I are on the second floor. We're all okay. Where are you?"

"Can't Bodan hear our conversation?" Alan asked.

"No. Ethan altered these radios, so that we're talking on a different frequency. Don't worry about it."

"We're on the first floor, near one of the entrances to the west."

Alan suddenly heard Ethan's voice.

"Alan, go outside, there should be a jeep parked right there. You don't need a key. All of the jeeps are rigged to just start when you turn the ignition. Get to Control Room 3 and restart the power."

Alan was sure that he wouldn't be able to restart any kind of computer, but Ellie was with him, so he knew she could do it.

"Okay. I'll let you know when we're done it."

"Okay," Ethan said.

Alan attached the walkie talkie back to his belt, while he and Ellie headed for the door. There was a jeep outside, just like Ethan had said. After a quick look around, they made a dash for it.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


Just as Daniel was coming into the lodge, Bodan was coming back out. He almost ran into the confused Daniel.

"Where are they?"

"They've scattered. But I heard a jeep starting from somewhere out here. Did you see anything?"

"No. I wasn't really looking, though. I was talking with Jacob. He's on his way out. He was worried about leaving Mr. Envoy alone, but he's coming."

"Envoy can take care of himself," Bodan said, as he started to walk around, counting how many jeeps were still there. There were three to start with, and there were still three. He was very puzzled. Then, off in the distance, he could see a jeep moving at a very high rate of speed, toward the dinosaur portion of the park.

"Oh, shit. Daniel. Get in the damn jeep. Our friends are making a run for Control Room 3."

Daniel nodded, as the two of them ran toward the jeep.


	38. Chapter 38: Computers and Pterodactyls

_Chapter 38: Computers and Pterodactyls_

  


Alan stopped the jeep just before the door of Control Room 3. They had been in touch with Ethan on and off, so that Ethan could keep opening and closing the security gates for them. The jeep skidded off to the right, as it came to a stop in the mud. Ellie ran out and headed toward the door and what was left of Control Room 3. About half of the building was still standing, after the Baryonyx had fallen on it. Alan ran around to the back of the building, to shut the power off. He quickly flipped the switch, waited the 2 minutes Ethan had told him to wait, and then flipped it back on. He ran back around and into the building. He was soaked, from head to foot. He stepped over some of the debris in the room and searched for Ellie. She had been looking for a working computer, and after he flipped the power switch back on, she found one in the front. She glanced at him and he nodded, telling her that the power was restarted. The two of them were completely in sync with each other, once again. They didn't even have to use words. She nodded back and leaned down, beginning to adjust the keyboard. Up until that moment, Ellie had forgotten about her hand hurting. As she grabbed the keyboard, she cried out in pain, holding her hand.

Alan was looking around the room, when he heard her cry in pain. He hurried over to her.

"You okay?" He asked.

Ellie nodded.

"Yes. It's just . . . I can't type, Alan," Alan stared at her. "I need you to do it," she said.

"Huh?"

Ellie smiled.

"I need you to type. On this computer. You can type a few words, can't you?"

Ellie thought that he looked absolutely frightened by what she was proposing. She got up.

"Come on. Get over here and type what I tell you," she said.

"Okay. Okay," he said. Alan knelt down by the computer. He just stayed there, staring at the screen. "Now what?" 

Ellie laughed. There was a black screen on the monitor with just one orange box in the middle. Obviously the login screen.

"Type the user name MORGAN and the password LAPORTE."

Alan did what he was told. She hovered closely behind him, reading what the screen said.

"Now, type 020270071342 on the keyboard," she said.

Alan did what he was told. The computer beeped, as they watched the next screen come up. It was the exact screen that Ethan had described on the paper.

"Now type SET SERVER=ED030248," she said, reading off the paper.

Alan typed it in. After a few mistakes and a few times of Ellie yelling at him, the command finally worked. The screen that came up was blue with a yellow border all around the edges. It had ten blank boxes, one right under the other, placed in the center of the screen. Ellie turned the paper over. 

"Now, tab down to the third blank box, and type ACCESS PADDOCK SECURITY," she said, as she looked at the paper again.

Alan did what he was told. He was amazed that he knew where the tab key was. The screen switched again, to yet another login screen.

"Good, good. Username is MALCOLM. Password is CHAOS," Ellie said.

Alan shook his head, as he typed what she told him to. A security grid popped up, with a graphical representation of the electric fences.

"Now, hold down the ALT key and push F7."

"ALT key?" Alan looked at her strangely. "Look, talk to me like I'm two years old, okay . . . because I have no idea what the ALT key is."

Ellie laughed. She reached over him and held down the ALT key herself. Alan glanced at her, as her face was now very close to his. She looked at him.

"Now push F7. Up there, on the top row," she said, gesturing at the keyboard with her head.

Alan held his gaze on her for a few more seconds, and then he looked back at the keyboard. He pushed the F7 key. Another small window appeared on the screen. Alan looked at Ellie again.

"How was that?" He asked her.

She smiled. She slowly leaned forward and put a hand on his face. She gently kissed him.

"That was very good," she said. "See? Computers don't have it in for you, after all."

He returned her smile with one of his own. The computer beeped, making them both bring their attention back to the task at hand. Ellie looked back down at Ethan's notes.

"Okay, now we need to let the little demon birds out. Choose the Pterodactyl Aviary. Press PA."

Alan pressed the P and A buttons on the keyboard, bringing up the data on the Pterodactyl Aviary.

"Now turn off the electricity there," she said. "Press 9, for off."

He did what he was told. He was beginning to get the hang of the whole computer thing. The computer beeped again and warned about the electricity being off in that paddock. A screen came up asking for a confirmation. Alan hit the Y key for Yes, even before Ellie had to tell him. The screen turned a light shade of red, indicating an electricity problem. The graphic representing the Pterodactyl Aviary was flashing on and off.

"Now what?" Alan asked.

  


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Bodan's jeep was racing toward Control Room 3. Daniel was in the passenger seat, holding his laptop tightly, as Bodan maneuvered the jeep. They had gone through the tunnel, which gave Daniel a small obstacle, but he had figured out a way to get the gate open. He had used a screwdriver, found in a toolbox in the back of the jeep, and opened up the keypad. After a few shocks, and some frequent swearing, the security gate, on both sides of the tunnel, opened and stayed open. The jeep continued on, passing by the unfinished building, where the Albertosaurus had rampaged through earlier.

"How long is the reinstalling thing going to take?" Bodan asked, in a very irritated manner.

"About 3 minutes, as long as they haven't restarted the servers."

"Well, let's hope they didn't get too far ahead of us. Damn Grant. I should have killed him when I had the chance."

"Yes, probably, sir."

"Shut up, Daniel."

"Yes, sir."

  


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Ethan and Lex were still very well hidden in one of the utility closets on the third floor. Ethan had his laptop ready to go, while Lex held on to the walkie talkie, waiting for Ellie to come back to the radio. After what seemed like forever, Ellie's voice was finally heard.

"Lex? We're all set here . . . I think. The computers are up and the electric fencing in the Pterodactyl Aviary has been shut down."

Lex handed the walkie talkie to Ethan. He pushed the button.

"Good, good. I'm almost certain that Bodan and Daniel are on their way to you, so in case this doesn't work, I would hide if I were you."

"We were planning on it," Ellie said.

Ethan handed the walkie talkie back to Lex and began to type commands into the laptop. He was turning on the high frequency repellers, one at a time, hoping to find the right jeep. The jeep that Bodan was using. If he turned them on in five minute intervals, the Pterodactyls were expected to stay together, as they attacked the source of the noise. When he was finished typing, he looked up at Lex.

"God, I hope this works. If it doesn't, Bodan will find Alan and Ellie."

"It'll work, Ethan. It has to. They're going to be just fine."

Ethan nodded at her. They were squeezed into quite a small space, and Ethan couldn't help glancing at her over and over. She was a very beautiful woman, he thought to himself. He started to think that if he made it off the island in one piece, that he should maybe ask her out. He smiled, as he went back to checking the repeller time schedule on the laptop.

  


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Ian, Tim and Jodie were on the second floor, when they ran into Jacob. He had been patrolling the second floor, since that's where his room was. Jacob spotted them almost immediately. He yelled for them to stop, but they didn't. They ran down the hallway and turned quickly out of gun range, as he had fired several shots at them with his rifle. He missed them.

Ian slowed down, as they passed a vending machine. Handing the walkie talkie to Jodie, he gestured for Tim and Jodie to go and hide a little further up the hallway. Tim was concerned about what Ian was doing, but he knew he didn't have time to argue. He grabbed Jodie's hand and they hurried up the hallway.

Jacob came barreling down the hallway, rifle in the ready position, and ran right past Ian. Ian emerged from his hiding spot and tackled Jacob from behind, hoping to get the edge over the larger man. He managed to do just that, as Jacob hit the floor with a gasp, knocking all the air from his lungs. His rifle was jarred from his hands, as Ian began to punch at him.

Tim came running to assist, while Jodie just stayed back, behind the safety of an ice machine. Tim and Ian managed to hit and kick Jacob enough times to keep the large man on the ground. After a few minutes, Tim grabbed the rifle and struck Jacob in the head, knocking him unconscious. Ian was still on the ground, when Tim had hit Jacob. He looked up and smiled.

"You're always knocking that poor guy out."

Tim smiled. Jodie came out from behind the ice machine, clearly happy that the events transpired the way that they had.

"Let's get out of here and find Alan," she said.

Ian looked at her.

"Good idea. Let's get all of us back together and get the hell out of here. Jodie, can I see that radio?"

Jodie handed the walkie talkie to him and he pushed the button down.

"Ethan? Do you read me? Ethan?"

A few seconds passed by, and then Lex's voice was heard.

"We're here and we're okay," she said.

"Tim managed to knock Jacob out . . . again. So it's safe to come down." 

"Okay," Lex said. Ian could hear her talking to Ethan. She came back to the walkie talkie. "Ethan says to meet us on the third floor. He says we'll take the monorail to the mall. Control Room 2 is right next to the mall."

"Well, Ethan would know. Okay, we'll meet you on the third floor."

"Ethan says to just follow the monorail signs."

"Okay, we'll be there in a few minutes. We're on the second floor right now," Ian said.

Ian grabbed Jodie by the hand and they started to go up the stairs to the third floor. Tim was right behind them. Ian glanced at him on the way up.

"How's the neck?"

"It's okay, I think."

Ian nodded and the three of them continued to the third floor of the lodge.

  


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Bodan was driving extremely fast. The rain had started to come down harder, and it was pelting his skin pretty hard. Daniel was still in the passenger seat, trying his best to keep his laptop from the rain. As they were driving, Daniel thought he had heard some sort of a squawking noise. He looked around, but didn't see anything, so he figured it was just the storm. Bodan noticed him looking around.

"What is it now, Daniel?"

"Nothing. Nothing."

Bodan shook his head and continued. It wasn't long before he heard the noise, too. It sounded like a flock of birds. He slowed the jeep down, looking around. It was hard to see, though, because of the rain coming down so hard. He stopped the jeep.

"Do you hear that?" Bodan asked Daniel.

"Yes. Yes, I do."

"What the hell is it?"

Bodan's question was answered in that instant. As the jeep sat there, stopped, it was attacked from above. Bodan suddenly felt sharp pain at the base of his neck, as something was attacking from the air. Daniel was scared to death. He tucked himself down into the floor of the passenger seat, as far as he could manage, holding his hands over his head. He had no idea of knowing that the very thing the Pterodactyl's were angry with, was sitting in the glove compartment, above his head. The high frequency repeller continued to work, as the prehistoric birds kept snipping away at the intruders, trying to stop the repeller from making noise. The four Pterodactyls had already attacked some of the other jeeps, looking for the source of the frequency, and had succeeded. Bodan and Daniel's jeep was one of the last ones, in addition to Alan and Ellie's jeep, parked by Control Room 3. But this time, instead of just finding an empty vehicle, the Pterodactyls found two humans, making them even more enraged.

Bodan was able to reach around and grab one of them, throwing it from his body. It just came back, even angrier. He finally opened the jeep door and made a run for it. The Pterodactyl attacking him followed him for a few seconds, soaring several feet above his head. The agitating sound seemed to go away, the farther it flew from the jeep. It surrendered its prey, turned around, and went back to the others, leaving Bodan alone.

Daniel was still in the jeep, as the three Pterodactyls were continuously attacking both himself and the glove compartment. One of them managed to tear a hole in it and find the repeller. The bird instantly destroyed it, striking at it with several thrusts from its beak. The fourth Pterodactyl appeared from above, its two and half foot wingspan gliding down toward Daniel. He looked up, just in time to see its sharp and long beak, coming right for him. It was the last thing he saw, as the bird dug its beak deep into Daniel's face, squawking and screeching the entire time. The other three joined in, squawking and pecking at him. Daniel screamed for help, but Bodan was already quite a distance away, and he wasn't about to come back. Soon the screams stopped and Daniel's limp body became the first meal that they ever had, that wasn't in a mush-like, pasty substance.

Bodan continued to run in the rain. When Daniel's screams stopped, he slowed down and looked behind him. He had a gun, but the walkie talkie, the laptop, and the only dependable computer expert, were all left behind. Things were beginning to look very gloomy for Patrick Bodan.


	39. Chapter 39: Trying To Regroup

_Chapter 39: Trying To Regroup_

  


Ethan and Lex were standing up, in the back of the monorail, as the car smoothly glided over the herds of herbivores. Ethan made a few adjustments on the laptop, and suddenly, the monorail started to move faster. Ethan looked at Lex.

"This is Brachiosaurus Cove. All of the herbivores were put together in one area of the park. I believe there are five species down there."

Lex nodded, as she looked down at the beautiful creatures. The sight was really breathtaking, even through the heavy rain. She could see several herds of dinosaurs below.

"The herd to the left looks like Stegosaurus, I believe," Tim said, from the front of the monorail.

Ethan nodded.

"Yes. I think you're correct, Tim. It's funny. Stegosaurus, Brachiosaurus, and the Iguanodons stay away from the other two species, Triceratops and Riojasaurus. They have never been able to figure out why," Ethan commented.

"Must be some sort of segregation," Ian said, "Do they ever come into contact with one another?"

"No. They stay very far away from one another. There's only been one time, that I know of, where the Triceratops got into a shoving match with an Iguanodon. The Trike won. After that, the herds stayed separated."

Jodie found the subject fascinating, but she had other things on her mind at the moment. She looked at Ian and waited for the proper moment to interrupt.

"Where are Alan and Ellie? Do you know?"

Ian picked up the walkie talkie. He smiled at Jodie, as he pushed the button.

"Alan, do you read me?"

Lex and Ethan were still in the back of the monorail. When Ian started to use the radio, Lex thought of a question to ask him.

"Ethan, how did you encrypt the frequency on the radio?"

"Well, I had to open them up and add a separate circuit board. It was very simple, really. The other frequencies are still there. Now, there's just one extra frequency, that the other radios don't have."

"Wow. You're so clever."

"Thanks, Lex," Ethan said, smiling at her.

The two of them continued to talk and giggle in the back of the monorail. Ian was about to make one of his infamous comments, but then Alan's voice was on the walkie talkie.

"Everything all right, Ian?"

"Oh, yeah. Jodie was just worried about you."

"Tell her that we're fine. Where are you?"

"We're on the monorail. Just passing up the herbivores," Ian said, looking at the monorail track map. "And now we're going over the Suchomimus Paddock."

"Ellie and I are going to head for the West Dock. We'll meet you there."

Ethan yelled to Ian from the back of the monorail.

"Tell Alan to watch out for Raptors. There's still a few left out there . . . somewhere."

Ian nodded and gave Alan the information. Alan said good-bye, and then Ian put the walkie talkie down. He looked at Jodie.

"See? He's okay. Don't worry. We'll all be together soon."

Jodie smiled and nodded, as she sat down on one of the seats. Tim was looking all around outside.

"The Suchomimus would be an awesome dinosaur to see," he said.

Ethan had walked up to the front, with Lex right behind him.

"All that thing does is walk back and forth, next to the river in its paddock. It's not such a great sight. Besides, I think the trees are too thick to see anything. That was one of the flaws mentioned in a meeting a few months ago."

Tim nodded. He was a bit disappointed, but he continued to search for the elusive dinosaur.

  


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Alan brought the program back to the Paddock Security screen, with Ellie's help, and then the two of them headed for the door. Alan had Ellie's hand in his, as he reached the door. He opened it and ran directly into Patrick Bodan, who was soaking wet and very irritated. Bodan forced his way into the room, pushing Alan and Ellie back. Alan thought about trying to knock him down, and make a run for it, but then Bodan produced a gun. Alan stepped back from Bodan and raised his hands. The effort hurt his shoulder, causing him to wince silently. Ellie was right next to him and she followed his lead and raised her hands, too. Bodan smiled.

"You can put your hands down. There's no need for that, I assure you," Bodan said.

They put their hands down. Ellie desperately wanted to grab Alan's hand, but she knew in her soul, that Bodan would somehow use that against her. She decided to stand still, waiting to see what Bodan had in mind. He hadn't just marched into the room and killed them, so they had a small chance.

"Give me that radio," Bodan ordered to Alan.

Alan took the walkie talkie from his belt and surrendered it slowly. Bodan grabbed it and began to examine it. Realizing that it had been altered, he looked up at Alan.

"I see you people were using an odd frequency. Very clever. Ethan is very clever, indeed."

Alan and Ellie stood by silently. They didn't want to provoke the trained killer. Trying to manage the walkie talkie with one hand, Bodan fumbled slightly with one of the control knobs, until he reached the desired frequency.

"Jacob? Do you read me? Come in, Jacob."

There was dead silence on the other end. Alan couldn't help but comment.

"Maybe he's dead."

Bodan gave Alan an evil stare, as he continued to try and reach Jacob. Finally, after several calls, Jacob responded.

"Bodan. I . . . I'm here. I was ambushed and hit in the head."

"Where are you now?"

"I'm still in the lodge."

"The lodge? Well, get your body into one of the jeeps over there. I need you at Control Room 3 right away. I have Grant and Sattler. I'm going to need some help, when their friends arrive."

"What about Mr. Envoy?"

"What about him? He can take care of himself," Bodan said. He looked at Alan, as he continued. "Besides, I don't really want Mr. Envoy to witness what is about to happen over here."

Ellie grabbed Alan's hand now, and held it very tight.

"I'm on my way," Jacob said, through the walkie talkie.

"And Jacob. Watch out for the jeeps. The Pterodactyls are attacking them for some reason. And use the tunnel. Daniel left the security fences open, before he died."

"Daniel's dead?"

"Yes. Hurry up and get over here."

"Okay."

  


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The monorail was traveling over the holding area for the Elasmosaurus. The rain was slowing down a bit, making it a little bit easier to see below. Ethan and Lex had joined the rest of the group, up in the front of the car. Ethan was sitting down, typing something on the laptop again. The rest of them were looking down.

"So where is it?" Lex asked.

"I've seen all I want to see of that thing," Ian commented.

"You've seen it?" Jodie asked.

"Yeah. Alan, Ellie and I were attacked by two of them. They managed to sink the boat that we came in."

"Oh, my God," Tim whispered.

"I didn't know that they were violent," Ethan said, looking down for a minute.

"They are. Take me word for it. The big one killed three mercenaries," Ian said.

Tim shivered, as he continued to look at the water containment area below. There were quite a few waves rippling, from the storm, but there were no signs of the water creatures. After a few turns, the monorail approached land again. Ian looked ahead and saw a building to the left of the track.

"Is that Control Room 3?" He asked.

Ethan looked up from the laptop.

"Yes. And just beyond that. The mall."

Tim became nervous.

"We're not going directly to the mall stop, are we? Because there are Raptors there."

"No. I was planning on going through the mall area and stopping the monorail outdoors."

"What?" Ian asked, very confused.

Ethan smiled.

"Relax. There's a set of maintenance stairs, just past the exit. I'm going to stop the monorail there. We can all climb down through the access hatch," Ethan said, pointing to the hatch in the center of the car floor.

Ian nodded. Jodie was looking toward Control Room 3, hoping to see Alan and Ellie coming out of there. She suddenly became very frightened and nervous.

"Raptors!" She yelled, pointing toward the control room.

They all followed her gaze and watched, as three Raptors made their way around Control Room 3. They were circling it, sneaking around slightly hunched over, peering into the building that was only half standing. Ian picked up the walkie talkie and pushed the button. He never took his eyes off of the Raptors.

"Alan! Ellie! Come in!"

There was no response.

"Grant? Do you read me?"

Nothing again. Just static. Ian handed the walkie talkie to Ethan, hoping that he could miraculously get Alan to hear him. Ethan made sure that all of the dials were properly set. They were. He looked at Ian and shrugged.

"It seems to be working."

Ian took it from him again. He pushed the button.

"Alan? Ellie? Oh, God, please come in. If you can hear me . . . there are three Raptors about to come into the control room."

Jodie watched, as the Raptors suddenly began to act different. One of them quickly raised its head and then began to move its body up and down. This got the attention of the other two Raptors. All three of them quickly left the area surrounding the control room and disappeared into the jungle. She looked at Tim. He was the one with the most dinosaur knowledge, outside of Alan.

"Why are they leaving? I mean, I'm not sad that they are. But why?" She asked.

"I'm not sure," Tim said. "Maybe something is coming."

It wasn't long before something did come. It was a jeep, racing down the maintenance road. It came to a halt, right in front of Control Room 2. The man in the jeep quickly jumped out and ran toward the front door, oblivious to the stalking Raptors and the moving monorail, above him.

"Jacob," Ethan whispered.

"Looks like he was expected, the way he just ran in there," Lex said.

"I hope Alan and Ellie got out of there," Ian said, looking on.

The monorail entered the mall area, causing the control room to disappear from sight.

  


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Bodan greeted Jacob, as he swiftly got inside.

"You made it here in superb time."

"I drove like a son of bitch to get here," Jacob said.

Bodan had been holding Ellie. He thought it best to hold her closely at gunpoint, so that Alan would behave. It had worked. Now that Jacob had arrived, Bodan let her go temporarily and shook hands with Jacob. The two henchmen quietly talked about what to do with Alan and Ellie. After a few seconds, Bodan turned around and reached for Ellie again. She hadn't moved from where Bodan had left her. She didn't want to anger him, so she had stayed put. Jacob had gone over to Alan. He pushed him backwards once, causing him to wince.

Bodan grabbed Ellie from behind again, and began to twist her broken wrist, ever so slightly, making her cry out in pain. He could see that Alan was about to become enraged, but he wasn't concerned. Jacob had a tight grip on Alan, holding him back. He continued to taunt him.

"Don't be mad about the whole hand thing, Dr. Grant. This sort of thing has happened to your precious Eleanor before."

Alan stood by, trying his hardest not to let Bodan get to him. He knew that's what he wanted. Bodan continued.

"It seems her dear husband had violently pushed her down a staircase."

Alan looked at Ellie. He had never heard about that before. Bodan picked up on the look of disbelief on his face.

"You didn't know about the stairs incident? Oh, of course, you didn't. She wouldn't have told you about that. Mark Degler was her very own nasty little secret. Besides, she had lied and said it was an accident, anyway. But we know the truth," Bodan stroked Ellie's face, "don't we, Eleanor?"

Ellie closed her eyes. She felt herself starting to shake, as she remembered the day well. Alan continued to stare at Bodan. Jacob was holding him from behind, and he knew if he moved, Jacob would hurt him. He was having a hard time doing nothing. Ellie had her eyes open now, and she could see the rage growing in Alan, as he continued to stare at Bodan.

"Please, Alan. Don't do anything. They're just words," she said, very concerned.

Alan looked at her and nodded, but Ellie could see he wasn't going to stand by much longer. Bodan continued to bait him.

"Falling down the stairs caused her to suffer two broken bones, Dr. Grant. Why didn't you know that?"

Alan moved forward slightly, and was immediately put into pain, as Jacob pressed down on his shoulder. He winced and gritted his teeth, trying to cope with the pain. Ellie tried pleading with Alan again.

"Alan, don't. Don't move. That's what he wants."

Bodan smiled. He still had her arm, so he quickly turned her toward himself. He smiled, and then he slapped her.

"Don't presume to know what I want, doctor."

He turned her away from him again. Ellie was both shocked and scared, as she concentrated on staring at Alan. When Bodan had slapped her, he become understandably angry, but his rage went no where. Jacob forced him to remain still, squeezing down on his shoulder again. Alan felt like he might pass out, as Jacob seemed to know exactly where to press. Alan's eyes began to water, both from pain and anger, as he fixated on Ellie's eyes. Bodan laughed.

"Eleanor, you seem to have your very own knight in shining armor," he said, clearly amused by Alan thinking that he could do anything. "I guess that's a step up from marrying a murderer."

Ellie was caught off guard by that last remark.

"What are you talking about?" She asked.

"Mark Degler, of course. Did you know he's wanted for murder? I'm guessing by your question, that the answer is no," Bodan said, coldly.

Ellie was still looking at Alan. She tried to just concentrate on him, and not listen to Bodan. Bodan continued on.

"You could have been killed, at any second, of any day, Eleanor. Even your children could have been killed, but yet you continued to live with the murderer."

There were tears coming down Ellie's face now. She didn't trust Bodan, but if there was any chance of what he was saying to be true, it horrified her.

"He's not a murderer! He's just . . . just . . . "

"Just a wife abuser? Just a drunk? Just what?" Bodan asked.

Ellie didn't answer, as she continued to look at Alan. She didn't want him to know all the details of her personal hell. She didn't want him to pity her. Alan didn't have sorrow on his face, though. It was anger. More than anger, as he switched from looking at Ellie, to looking at Bodan.

"Where in the hell do you get this stuff from?" Alan challenged.

Bodan laughed again.

"Mr. Envoy thought it a good idea to find out everything we could about the people close to Hammond. I have to agree with him. It was a truly good idea," Bodan said to Alan. Then he jerked Ellie's arm, "Don't you agree, my dear?"

Ellie was about to start crying hard, but she managed to hold it in. Alan was to the brink of his breaking point.

"Leave her alone, Bodan," he said.

"What are you going to do about it, Dr. Grant? Glare at me? I'm hardly frightened by your glaring."

Ellie interrupted, once again trying to save Alan from the inevitable beating, or worse, that he was about to receive.

"I'm all right, Alan."

Bodan disagreed.

"I'd hardly say you're all right. You've got a lot of problems. But I digress. I have some problems of my own. You see . . . my computer expert was viciously attacked by Pterodactyls, so that leaves me with only one option. Ethan. And I need one of you for bait. But only one of you. The other one is expendable, I'm afraid."

Alan was switching his gaze, from Bodan to Ellie. He wasn't about to say anything at this point. Bodan looked at Jacob.

"Which one, Jacob?"

"A woman is always a better hostage."

"Yes, yes. I was thinking the same thing," Bodan said, looking at Alan. "I guess you're the unlucky one, Dr. Grant."

Bodan twisted Ellie's broken wrist slightly, and pushed her aside. He pushed her with such force, that she fell to the floor. Bodan walked up to Alan, his gun in his hand. Ellie's hand was hurt in the fall, but she didn't care. She had something else far more important to deal with at the moment. She began to plead with Bodan.

"Oh, God. Please, don't do this. Patrick, please. Please . . . stop."

Bodan ignored her, as he reached Alan and Jacob. Jacob was smiling. Alan was looking at Ellie, as she picked herself up off of the floor. Bodan raised his gun to Alan's head and rested the butt of the gun against his forehead. Whatever Ellie was thinking about doing, to stop Bodan, suddenly came to a halt. With Bodan's gun aimed directly at him, there was nothing she could do. Alan was still looking at Ellie, as Jacob held him in place. He began to breath in short gasps, waiting for the fatal shot. He took one last, long look at Ellie, trying to memorize her every feature, and then he closed his eyes. He could still hear Ellie pleading with Bodan.

Bodan pulled the trigger.

  


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The monorail came to a halt. Ian opened the access hatch and Tim went first. There was rain coming down all around him, as he carefully made his way to the platform. The monorail itself, kept the rain from directly hitting him, as he was fully underneath it. Lex was next. Tim helped her down without incident and she began to go down the wet stairs, and then he assisted Jodie. She followed Lex down the stairs. Ian looked up at the last person in the monorail.

"Okay. Your turn," he said to Ethan.

Ethan smiled.

"After you . . . Dad."

That made Ian laugh. He went through the access hatch and landed successfully on the platform. His bad leg hadn't given him much trouble, but now it was beginning to hurt some. He was surprised that it had lasted this long, after so many surgeries to attempt to make it function well. He didn't let it get to him, though. He just trudged along. As he was going down the wet stairs, he slipped and fell down.

Ethan had made it down to the platform, with his laptop tucked under an arm. He heard someone fall. He looked down and saw that it was Ian.

"You okay, down there?" He yelled from above.

Ian slowly got up and swore to himself quietly.

"I'm okay. I just slipped."

Ethan started down the stairs and saw Ian getting up. He nodded at him, and then he continued down the stairs, behind him. The monorail track was quite a distance up, causing the need for three flights of stairs to get to the ground. The five of them quickly navigated to the bottom. Lex was the first one to the ground. She looked up, to check on the progress of the others. As she did, she noticed Ethan slip. He didn't fall down, but his laptop had shook loose and plummeted to the ground, toward her. She tried her hardest to catch it, but it was impossible. It hit, in several places, on its way down. When it finally reached the ground, it was in about four pieces. Everyone on the stairs looked up at Ethan, who was swearing very loudly and holding his head. Ian tried to calm him down.

"Ethan, don't worry. It's going to be okay. You had the park under control, so it doesn't matter now."

Ethan thought about that for a minute. Ian was right. He was able to do everything that he wanted with the computer. They started to walk away from the monorail track, and into the rain.

"You're right. I just got carried away there, for a minute. I don't like being so clumsy, that's all."

Ian smiled.

"You can't blame me for that one. One of your parents gave you that wonderful trait."

Ethan smiled, but didn't say anything. He just shook his head and changed the subject.

"Control Room 3 is just up ahead. Then we'll head for the West Dock."

Lex, Jodie and Tim were ahead of Ian and Ethan. Jodie turned around to face Ethan.

"Good idea," she said, "We can find Alan and Ellie. I hope they're okay."

Ethan nodded in agreement. The five of them headed for Control Room 3, as they kept a careful look out for danger.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alan opened his eyes, as he heard a clicking sound. Sweat was pouring off his face, as he realized that Bodan's gun was empty. He could hear Ellie's sigh of relief from across the room, as he managed to slightly smile himself. While taking in deep breaths, he quickly scanned the room, until he was looking into Ellie's eyes again.

Bodan smiled, too, and then he held something up. The object caught Alan's attention, as he looked at it closely. It was the magazine clip from the gun. Bodan had taken the clip out, when he greeted Jacob at the door. He knew that neither scientist had a weapon at that point, so unloading the gun wouldn't matter. His only mission, when he walked back into the room, was to give Alan and Ellie a difficult time and stir up their emotions. He found pure joy in other people's trials and tribulations.

"How did it feel being that close to death?" Bodan whispered.

Alan didn't respond with words. He jerked his shoulders free from Jacob, turned slightly, made a fist, and struck Bodan in the side of his face. He had so much animosity built up by then, that there was quite a bit of force behind the punch. Bodan was physically moved sideways a few steps, before he caught his balance. He turned back toward Alan, with a very angry look on his face. Jacob had already regained control of Alan, pushing into his shoulder again. Bodan was face to face with him again, as Alan began to buckle under the pressure that Jacob was applying. Ellie began to walk toward the three men, her emotions scattered. She was bound and determined to stop them from hurting Alan. As she was about to cut in, the sounds of Pterodactyls attacking the outer portions of the building could be heard. Jacob turned toward the sounds, easing up on Alan. Ellie wasn't that far away from Alan now, as the Pterodactyls were hovering just above the huge opening in the building, made by the Baryonyx.

Bodan put the magazine clip back in his gun and lifted it up, aiming it toward the closest prehistoric bird. Just as he was about to squeeze the trigger, shots rang out from behind him, bouncing off the walls and computers. Everyone quickly took cover. The only one not quite quick enough, was Jacob. He was hit in the head by one of the ricochet bullets. He collapsed to the floor, dying instantly. Bodan had no idea what had happened. He looked up, as someone appeared in the doorway of Control Room 3. He didn't recognize the man at all.

Alan did, though. He smiled, clearly relieved to see a friendly face.

"Tilk?"

Tilk stood in the doorway, with a rifle strung over his shoulder, and a gun in his hand. His shirt was shredded in several places, and he was bleeding from his neck and leg, but he didn't seem to be seriously injured. He looked at Alan and smiled.

With Jacob out of the picture, Alan was free. Ellie seized the moment. She ran past Bodan and toward Alan. Bodan had a gun, but since Tilk had his gun aimed directly at him, the Englishman decided to allow Ellie to go to Alan.

Ellie reached Alan and threw herself into his arms. The sudden jolt hurt him, but he didn't give it another thought. He held onto her, as tight as he could, whispering to her.

"I'm okay. I'm okay."

Ellie had lost control of her emotions, just as soon as Alan had embraced her. She held onto him, for dear life, crying. He continued to assure her, while kissing the top of her head several times, and stroking her hair.

"Shhhh . . . it's going to be all right. It's okay. I've got you."

Alan was still pretty shaken from almost being killed, and he was leaning on Ellie, just as much as she was leaning on him.

Bodan was standing very close to one of the working computers. During the Alan and Ellie reunion, he took the opportunity to glance at what was left on the computer screen. It said something about Paddock Security and it was flashing different shades of red. Clearly, something wasn't quite right with Paddock Security. Bodan looked over at Tilk. He wanted to get a feel for the new player on the block.

"So, how is this going to go?" He asked.

Tilk came closer to him and took possession of Bodan's gun.

"You move. I shoot you," Tilk simply answered, stepping back a little.

"Okay. That sounds definite," Bodan said, smiling.

Alan looked over at Bodan, as he held onto Ellie. He was slightly nervous about Bodan's behavior. He noticed that Bodan glanced toward the computer a few times, so he took a look for himself.

"Ellie. Why is that computer flashing?"

Ellie looked up at him. She wasn't quite ready to let him go yet, but she looked at the computer. As soon as she looked at the monitor, she knew what was wrong. She let go of Alan and rushed over to the computer. She read the several different warnings to herself.

"Oh, no," she said.

"What? Oh, no, what?" Alan asked, as he walked toward the computer.

"If I'm reading this right, all of the Paddocks to the North are . . . open."

"How in the hell did that happen?" Alan asked.

Ellie looked down at the keyboard. She held it up, so that Alan could see it. There were bullet holes going completely through the keyboard in several places. The ricochet bullets must have shorted out the keyboard.

Bodan laughed out loud. Tilk kept his gun trained on his head as he laughed.

"It seems there is a lot more to worry about, besides me," Bodan said to Alan's back.

Alan turned around with a fury. He hated Bodan. He hadn't hit too many people in his life. Bodan had been the fifth. The first had been in grade school, the second had been a rival student in college, the third had been Paul Kirby, and the fourth had been Mark Degler. Now, he was all set for number six. He took a few steps toward Bodan, and then stopped, as he heard the unmistakable sound of a Velociraptor. He quickly looked around the room with a frightened look on his face. Ellie noticed.

"What's wrong?"

"I heard something. Sounded like Raptors."

Bodan's smile left his face. Tilk still had his gun aimed at him, but he was starting to look around. It wasn't long before all of them could hear the Raptors snarling and shrieking, just outside of the damaged building. A few terrifying minutes went by, and then Tilk noticed the first Raptor's head lightly bobbing up and down. It was glaring at them, as it slowly began to climb over the rubble.

Ellie was very close to Alan, as they began to slowly back away, toward the door. Ellie happened to look in Bodan's direction.

"Bodan is gone," she whispered.

Tilk glanced toward where Bodan was, too. He had somehow disappeared, in the midst of all the commotion. Tilk swore to himself, and then he yelled to Alan. When Alan looked, Tilk threw the rifle to him. Alan caught it, and the two men began to fire at the Raptors. Tilk came closer to them and handed Bodan's gun to Ellie. She joined them. They made a small circle, shooting at the Raptors, as they spotted them.

  


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Tim, Lex and Jodie were still in the lead. When they heard gunshots, they stopped. They could see the control room from where they were and they could see the Raptors attacking it. Ian and Ethan caught up to them, and when they did, they all watched the Raptors fall down, one by one. There were three of them, and they never even made it into the building. After a few seconds of silence, the door to Control Room 3 opened. Jodie saw Alan emerge, and walk out into the rain. She giggled and ran toward him.

"Alan!"

Alan saw her and smiled, in return. He walked slowly toward her, and braced himself for the impact. She ran into his arms, with tears in her eyes.

"You're okay," she whispered.

"Yeah. Did you have a doubt?" He asked, in a joking manner.

She didn't answer. She was too happy to see him, to respond. Ellie had been right behind him and Jodie hugged her, too. Then a very large man walked out of the building, holding a gun. Jodie tensed up. Alan noticed, and explained. 

"Remember that guy I told you about? Tilk?"

Jodie nodded.

"Well, meet Tilk," Alan said. Then he looked at Tilk. "This is Jodie, my cousin. One of the people you were sent to rescue."

Jodie looked relieved to know that Tilk wasn't a bad guy. Tilk held his hand out to her, as the rest of the group made their way to them.

"Pleased to meet you, Jodie. The name is Cameron Tilkanski."

Jodie shook his hand and nodded. Ian laughed.

"What a name you have there," Ian commented. Tilk looked at Ian, and he put his hands up. "Just kidding there, big guy."

"Anyone know what time it is?" Ethan asked, interrupting.

Tilk and Ian looked at their watches, and both answered.

"10:00am."

Tilk glared at him, once again. And, once again, Ian withdrew from the fight. He decided that it would be best to stay away from the mercenary. Alan suddenly remembered the paddocks being open.

"All the Northern Paddocks are unlocked. We shouldn't just hang out around here."

"What?" Ethan asked.

Alan looked at Ellie. She laughed, as she knew he wanted her to explain what had happened.

"The keyboard was shot up, and somehow, the four Northern Paddocks were opened."

Ethan thought about what that meant for a minute.

"Well, the Pterodactyls and the Raptors were already out, so that doesn't matter. But that leaves the Baryonyx and the T-Rex out on the loose."

Tim was standing silently, until the last statement. He had forgotten about where the different dinosaurs were placed on the island.

"The Baryonyx and the T-Rex?"

Ethan nodded.

"Oh, God," Lex whispered.

The eight of them began to look around, as they started for the West Dock. Alan wanted to get the plan clear in his head.

"Ethan, why go to the dock now? Shouldn't we just hide out until help gets here? We'll be sitting ducks, just waiting on the dock."

"There's a place to wait underneath the dock. It was designed that way, so that people could wait somewhere away from the elements. Mr. Envoy didn't want it to rain on visitors, or workers."

Alan nodded. They continued to quickly make their way to the dock.


	40. Chapter 40: Disturbing The Oasis

_Chapter 40: Disturbing The Oasis_

  


With the power to the paddock gone, the Baryonyx quickly figured out that it could get out, as the gate slightly opened. It pushed its way through the gate and quickly began to hunt. It had picked up a scent somewhere toward the west, but the wind was just perfect to catch a new scent to the south. It thundered toward the new and unknown scent, roaring as it ran.

It swiftly moved across the maintenance road and past the mall building. It followed the new scent all the way to another security fence. It looked for some sort of gate, like it had in its paddock. When it found it, the Baryonyx tried to push it open with its snout. It received quite an electrical jolt from the attempt and became enraged. Using its body weight, it flung itself into the electric fence several times. Each time, it would get electrocuted and each time it became more angry. After several attacks, the dinosaur finally managed to knock a section of the fence down. It went inside, roaring loudly in its victory. The large sign outside of the paddock said SUCHOMIMUS on it.

The Suchomimus was just quietly relaxing in the rain. It seemed to like the rain, making it even happier in its little utopia. As it stood there, it picked up on something coming close. It picked its head up very high and began to sniff the air. It didn't pick up on a scent, as the wind was moving in the wrong direction, but it did pick up on the ground shaking all around it. It became very defensive, as the unknown threat came closer.

The Baryonyx came rumbling out, from beyond the trees and attacked the Suchomimus. The Baryonyx was the smaller of the two, and that's probably what saved the Suchomimus from being bitten. The Baryonyx missed its mark, but it twisted around for another strike, roaring loudly. By this time, the docile Suchomimus had become defensive and outraged, itself. It wasn't happy with something entering its territory, and it certainly wasn't happy with this new creature trying to take over its territory. It roared loud enough to drown out any noise the Baryonyx had been making.

This made the Baryonyx step back, just a little, as it had never been stood up to before. The two titans battled it out for the territory, by ramming into one another. The larger Suchomimus easily won every shoving match, and then quickly took charge of the situation. It sank its teeth into the back of the Baryonyx, causing it to roar in pain. It tried to free itself, but couldn't manage. The Suchomimus finally let go, but only just to get a better grip. It sank its razor sharp teeth into the Baryonyx again. Then, the Suchomimus attempted to bring its large opponent down to the ground, by twisting its own neck in a downward motion. It didn't work. The Baryonyx was able to finally break the grip and back away.

The Suchomimus was the aggressor now, though. It quickly came back toward the smaller Baryonyx and attacked it again, by biting down on its neck this time. The Baryonyx tried to dodge the larger beast, but didn't succeed. It was mortally wounded now, and began to give up. The Suchomimus lifted its giant crocodile snout up in the air. It had a mouthful of bits and pieces from the Baryonyx and was chewing it up slowly, really enjoying the taste of it. The Baryonyx was all but dead, as it slowly fell to its side, landing in the nearby river. The Suchomimus continued to fed for a little while. After it finished, it began to walk away from the river and toward the north. Its peaceful river had been contaminated by the large predator, so it didn't want to stay in that area any longer.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


Patrick Bodan had finally stopped running. He stood there, breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath. He had been able to get away from all of them and he was very pleased with himself. When he first sneaked out of Control Room 3, he didn't have a clear idea of where he would go. But then he realized that the monorail would be his best bet. He needed to get back to the lodge and back to Mr. Envoy. He had begun to go in the direction of the mall, when he had seen Ian and the gang. He had quickly hid behind some trees and had successfully navigated his way to the south end of the mall.

He began to run again. He had to hurry and get back to Envoy. He needed to regroup and recapture everyone. He had no idea that they were going to be picked up in less than an hour. As he was running, he felt the ground shaking under his feet. He stopped and looked around. He looked up, just in time, to see a large dark shadow, moving quickly toward him. He froze in terror, as he knew it was the silhouette of the crazed Baryonyx. After a few minutes of tension, he noticed it was acting odd. It wasn't moving in the same manner he was used to seeing. It was very cautious, as its giant footsteps rumbled the ground all around Bodan. He took a closer look. It was larger than what he had remembered, too. And he didn't remember the Baryonyx having such a well-defined sail across its back. He realized that it wasn't the Baryonyx, like he had thought. It was that docile Suchomimus. He relaxed, as he watched the Suchomimus explore the unfamiliar area.

The Suchomimus continued to walk cautiously. Its little oasis had been disturbed by an intruder, and it had found the need to fiercely defend its territory. It had never been more than one hundred feet from the river in its paddock, much less any where else. Now that it was free to roam around, it did so with a watchful eye. The prehistoric creature had realized something very important. It had realized that it was a very big and powerful dinosaur. If it used a little muscle and force, it could overcome any obstacle. It had been docile for quite a while, but now it had a new energy surrounding it.

Unfortunately for Bodan, the Suchomimus had found its newly renovated courage at the worst possible time. The dinosaur spotted him near some trees, way below, and roared. It was only the second time ever, that the Suchomimus roared.

Bodan was looking up at the Suchomimus, with the rain pelting him in the face. The dinosaur's massive head slowly came down, examining the tiny and unknown human. He swore to himself, as he realized that the formally docile dinosaur had taken a turn in personality.

"Now you decide to act like the textbooks," he whispered. "Damn thing."

And with those final words, Bodan was completely engulfed in the dinosaur's long crocodile-like jaws. The Suchomimus bit down on him, crushing his entire body. Bodan screamed in agony, but then found it hard to scream, as the blood came up and blocked his airway. The Suchomimus slowly brought its head up, careful not to lose its meal. When it was completely upright, it leaned its head back and took one final crunch, taking care of Patrick Bodan, once and for all.


	41. Chapter 41: The Last Stand

_Chapter 41: The Last Stand_

  


Ethan led the way to the West Dock. Alan had given him the rifle, and he had it pointed out in front of him, hoping he wouldn't have to use it. Tim and Lex were right behind him, with Tim helping Lex walk. Alan, Ellie, and Jodie were behind them. Alan was a little distant from Ellie and Jodie. He had his hand firmly pressed against his wounded shoulder, trying to stop it from hurting. Ian was a few feet behind Alan, walking by himself. Tilk was in the very back. Ian turned to look at Tilk.

"May I ask you a question?"

Tilk nodded. Ian smiled, relieved that Tilk didn't want to beat him up for talking to him.

"I just want to know how you survived that attack on the boat."

"I was stuck in the cabin of the boat. Knocked unconscious. When I came to, the cabin was filled with water, about half way. The boat was completely turned upside down, so I think that kept the water from filling up the entire cabin. I made a distress call to Hammond's associates, and then I broke a part of the glass, and swam to shore."

"You're a very lucky man."

"Yes, I know that."

"So where have you been the whole time?"

"That's two questions, Dr. Malcolm," Tilk said, smiling.

Ian laughed uncomfortably. Tilk finally answered the question.

"I've been hiding in maintenance buildings. I was almost caught about five separate times, but I managed to keep hidden."

"Where did you get all of that firepower?"

"Maintenance Building 5."

Ian nodded. Everyone had been listening to Tilk's story. Ethan spoke up.

"Yeah, Maintenance Building 5 is where we keep extra guns, rifles, and ammunition."

Tilk looked toward Ethan, who was still in the lead.

"I'm glad I happened upon it then," he commented.

"Do any of the maintenance buildings have food? Because I am starving," Jodie asked, interrupting.

Ethan smiled. He was kind of hungry, too. He just hadn't really thought about it until right then.

"Yeah, there is. All of the maintenance buildings have vending machines, but the closest one to us is the building in the Raptor Paddock."

Jodie shivered.

"I can wait."

Alan laughed.

"Yeah, me, too," he said. He looked at Ethan. "How many Raptors are there?"

"There were twelve, total. I think about half of them are either dead or captured, though."

"Well, that still leaves quite a few of them," Ellie added.

Ethan smacked his forehead and began to shake his head, as he suddenly remembered something.

"Mr. Envoy had some vending machines installed near both docks. I had forgotten all about that. The workers were complaining that they wanted to snack on something, while they waited for the boat. They've only been there for about two months."

"Oh, good," Jodie said.

Alan smiled. He was happy to see Jodie acting like a normal kid again. She would be off of this island very soon, and hopefully on her way to forgetting all that happened in this awful place. As he was walking, he noticed Tim lightly touching the wound on his neck. Ian had filled him in on what had happened in the lodge. Lex had mended it the best she could, but she didn't have many medical supplies to utilize.

"How you feeling, Tim?" He asked from behind him.

Tim turned around and faintly smiled.

"I'll be all right. Lex and Ian said it's just a graze. It's not even bleeding any more."

"That's good," Alan said.

Alan watched Tim nod at him, and then he noticed that Lex was looking his way. He grew a little uneasy, as he could see that she was wondering about his shoulder. He tried to stop her worrying, before it even began.

"Lex, I'm fine. I'm just a little sore. Really."

Lex was still looking at him. She could see blood seeping through his fingers, as he had his hand pressed up against the wound.

"Why is it bleeding then?" She challenged, as she slowed down to let him catch up with her.

Alan had no defense. It had started to bleed again, a little while ago. He was hoping to just get on an airplane and back to the mainland, before she noticed. He was about to try and say something, and that's when he noticed Ellie looking at him, too. Jodie laughed.

"You might as well give up now, Alan. They're just worried about you. So am I."

Alan smiled.

"Okay, I give up," he said, stopping.

Lex walked up to him and removed his hand. He winced some, as she moved his shirt slightly, so that she could get a good look at the laceration. She looked up, frowning at him.

"Some of the stitches have opened. What in the hell happened?"

Alan really didn't want to go into the details of the horrific experience Ellie and he had shared with Bodan. He was relieved when Ellie answered for him.

"Jacob kept pushing on his shoulder, and hitting him," she said.

"Don't worry though. Jacob is no longer with us," Tilk added, smiling.

Lex nodded, as she released Alan's shirt. There wasn't much she could do for him. She was out of bandages, and she was even out of Darvocet.

"If you don't move your shoulder very much, the bleeding should slow down. No sudden movements, okay?"

"Okay, I've got it," he answered, as he went back to pressing a hand against his shoulder.

They made it to the concrete maintenance road. It wasn't much longer, until they finally saw the giant wooden sign that said WEST DOCK. As they got closer, they could make out the schedule, written on the lower portion of the sign. The dock could be clearly seen now. There were two jeeps parked next to it, closer to them than the dock itself. They were about two hundred feet from the dock, and that's when the ground began to shake under their feet. This was the first sign of a very big predator on the loose.

"That would be either the Baryonyx, or one of the Rexes," Ethan said.

Alan looked all around him, scanning the area. There were no dinosaurs in sight, so he made a suggestion.

"Let's make a run for it, before whatever it is, gets here."

The eight of them began to run toward the dock. Lex and Ian were the slowest, so they were getting assistance from Ethan, Tim and Tilk. Alan made sure to keep Ellie and Jodie in front of him, where he could see them. As they neared the jeeps, the second sign of the dinosaur was heard. A loud and deafening roar was heard from behind them. Jodie was the first to look back . . . and scream. They all turned around to see the source of the roar, except for Lex. She just looked forward and continued to limp. She didn't want to see what it was.

Alan looked on in disbelief, as the dinosaur revealed itself. It wasn't the Baryonyx. It was a Tyrannosaurus Rex. That was already a bad situation, but to make it worse, two more Tyrannosaurs came from behind the first one. All three of them had stayed together, and now they were roaring in unison, as they began chasing the humans. The three dinosaurs were way too big to think a little rifle or gun could possibly harm them, so everyone continued to run.

Lex was the first one to make it to the dock. She quickly made her way down the stairs, to the underground section. She was moving so fast, she tripped on a stair, and fell down the rest of the way. Tim was right behind her. He made it down the stairs and helped her up, as Tilk came running down the stairs. Ellie and Jodie were just about to the dock, as well. Alan was right behind them, but he kept checking to make sure that Ethan and Ian were coming. As he was looking back, Jodie fell in front of him, causing him to trip over her. He tumbled and landed on the ground. Ellie hadn't noticed right away. She had made it all the way to the stairs, before she turned around. When she saw Alan and Jodie on the ground, her first reaction was to run back out there and help. Tilk stopped her from doing so, as he grabbed her arm and coaxed her inside. Half of them were safe and half of them were still out in the open.

The first T-Rex had made its way to where the humans had been when they first heard it roar. It plowed right over the wooden West Dock sign, as it continued to track them. The other two had slowed down. It looked as though the Tyrannosaurs also had a leader among them, much like the Raptors. The lead T-Rex roared again, as it was almost upon them.

Alan managed to get himself off the ground. He helped Jodie up and they continued to run toward the dock. He looked back, to check on the progress of the three carnivores. It was very clear to him that they would never make it all the way to the dock. He looked to Ian and Ethan, who were almost to the stairs now. It looked as though they would make it, but he knew that if he and Jodie ran in there at the last minute, the T-Rex would, more than likely, plow right into the dock. He didn't want to put everyone in jeopardy, so he focused his attention on the jeeps that they were approaching.

"Jodie, get into the jeep!"

"What?"

"The jeep! Get in it!"

Jodie didn't think the jeep would be any help, but she trusted Alan, so she did what he told her to do. She jumped into the driver's side of the jeep and quickly scooted over. Alan got into the driver's seat and hoped that these jeeps were rigged, like the other ones. There was something stuck in the ignition, so he turned it. To his delight, the jeep started! Jodie laughed for a second at their luck, but then went back to being frightened, as she saw just how close the lead T-Rex was to them. She didn't look at Alan. She just started to hit him.

"Go, go. Go!"

Ian and Ethan had safely made it to the stairs. Ian heard one of the jeeps start. He glanced back, to see what Alan was doing. He watched in suspense, but also with the notion of running out there to help.

There was enough room in front of Alan to turn the jeep in a circle and go away from the dock. He floored it. The jeep took off with a burst of speed and he turned toward the left. It was much easier for him to steer to the left because he mostly had to use his right arm to do it. As they moved to their left, the lead Tyrannosaur stepped into the jeep's path. Alan hit the brakes and turned the wheel hard to the left at the same time, to produce a quick turnaround, complete with skids. The whole maneuver made him wince with pain, as it put a lot of pressure on his shoulder. When he had complete control of the jeep again, he hit the gas, sending the jeep in the opposite direction, to the North.

Ethan could see that Ian wasn't intending on standing by. He tried to change his mind, as Ian took a step away from the stairs.

"Ian, he's got it under control. Don't do it."

Ian quickly turned to Ethan, and then went back to watching the jeep attempt to get away from the Tyrannosaurs. The three dinosaurs had arranged themselves perfectly, pretty much blocking off any possible escape route. The lead T-Rex roared at the tiny jeep and began to follow it from behind. The other two were in front of the jeep. One on the left side and one on the right side. There was no where for Alan to go. Ian looked at Ethan.

"I'm getting in the other jeep."

Ethan protested, of course, but Ian had already begun to run toward the other jeep. Ellie was still on the staircase, with Tilk holding her back. She got away from him and ran up the stairs, stopping next to Ethan.

"What is he going to do? Did he tell you?"

"No. He just said he's going for the other jeep."

Ethan and Ellie watched Ian get inside the other jeep and start it up. He quickly backed it up and drove toward the dinosaurs. He wasn't sure what he was going to do, but he knew he had to at least try to help. He stepped on the gas and gradually caught up to the T-Rex that was behind Alan's jeep. He slammed a hand into the middle of the steering wheel, using the horn to distract the giant carnivore.

Alan had turned the jeep to the right, in an attempt to dodge the T-Rex closest to them. If he had gone to the left, it wouldn't have taken long to reach the water, so he continued to drive further into the park. Jodie was sitting quietly in the passenger seat, scared to death. After the last quick skid to turn around, she had put on her seat belt, as she was almost thrown from the vehicle.

Ian's persistent beeping, finally grabbed the attention of the lead T-Rex. It slowed down, stopped, and pivoted around quickly. It saw the other jeep, moving closer to it, and roared at it. Ian's eyes became very wide, as he turned the jeep to the left. He did a half circle, and began to drive to the South, with one T-Rex chasing after him. He smiled for a second, as he was happy that the diversion worked, and that Alan only had two dinosaurs to worry about now.

The two Tyrannosaurs were a handful enough, though, as Alan continued down the maintenance road.

"Where are we going?" Jodie asked, her voice trembling.

"I don't know."

"That's reassuring," Jodie said, slightly amused by Alan's honesty.

Alan glanced at her. He could see how frightened she was. He was feeling the exact same way. He tried to restore confidence in her.

"I'm hoping to lose at least one of the T-Rexes, with all of the zigging and the zagging. Then, we'll turn around and go back the other way."

Jodie waited for him to look at her. The jeep was moving back and forth in different directions, but she managed to nod her head. He nodded back and brought his attention back to the dinosaurs.

Ellie was beyond approachable. She was both angry and frightened, as Alan and Ian's jeeps disappeared from view. She could still see the large predators chasing after the invisible jeeps.

"What time is it?" She asked Ethan.

"It's 10:54."

"Well, the rescue team should be here by now, damn it! Where are they?"

Ethan shrugged his shoulders. Ellie was getting angrier by the minute and she was about to take it out on poor Ethan, when she heard the faint sound of a helicopter.

"You hear that?"

Before Ethan could answer, Lex yelled from the bottom of the staircase.

"The reinforcements are here!"

Ellie and Ethan turned to look in the direction the noise was coming from. In just a few short minutes, a very big helicopter came into view.

Ian was having a hard time getting away from the lead T-Rex. And he was running out of space. There, in front of him, on the maintenance road, was a security gate. It was there to stop people from wandering into the Elasmosaurus Paddock. When he glanced to the left, he could see Control Room 3. He made a sharp left turn and decided on going around the control room, in an attempt to rendevous with the others at the dock. As the jeep turned, the lead T-Rex continued to track its every movement. It turned to the left also.

Alan turned around to check where the Tyrannosaurs were located, and could only find one.

"Jodie, you see the other one? I only see one."

Jodie stretched her neck to look.

"No, I don't see it either. Where did it go?"

"I don't---"

The missing T-Rex came stomping from the side of them. It had gone into the trees and reemerged, right next to the jeep. Alan swerved to miss one of its massive feet. The jeep spun out of control and skidded toward the tree line.

Ethan and Ellie were out in the open, waving at the helicopter. Everyone else below the dock joined them. Ethan turned on his walkie talkie and tried to communicate with the chopper. After a few frequency changes, he was able to hear someone's voice.

". . . Captain Seth Walker. Trying to reach Dr. Alan Grant. Do you read me?"

"Yes, we read you, sir," Ethan answered.

"Is this Dr. Alan Grant?" Walker asked.

"No. This is Ethan Davis. We are in need of help. Right now."

"I'm about to land right now, sir."

"No. Wait!"

"What's the problem, sir?"

"There are three Tyrannosaurs on the loose, as well as some Raptors, a Baryonyx, and some Pterodactyls. So be warned."

"Thanks for the warning, sir."

Ellie grabbed the walkie talkie from Ethan.

"Mr. Walker. There are some people, in some jeeps, who are being pursued by the Tyrannosaurs. Do you have firepower?"

"Of course, ma'am."

"Good, then go to the East and shoot a few of those Rexes. Please."

"That's affirmative."

Ellie sighed with relief, as she watched the helicopter fly over them and in the direction that Alan had gone.

When Alan's jeep skidded out of control, it slammed into a tree, causing it to come to a quick halt. Alan was thrown out of the jeep. His body flew forward and landed a few yards from the jeep, safely hidden from the dinosaurs. Jodie remained in the jeep. She had her seat belt on, stopping her from joining Alan. She screamed for him, but he didn't answer. She tried to get the seat belt off, but she was too scared to slow down enough to get it unfastened. She continued to scream for Alan, as one the Tyrannosaurs slowly approached the broken down jeep. She was finally able to get the seat belt unfastened, but there was no way she could run for it now. She tucked her tiny body in the space under the glove compartment, and stayed completely still.

Alan had the wind knocked out of him, but he wasn't unconscious. He slowly sat up, looking around for Jodie. He had heard her screaming, but it just didn't register right away. He couldn't find her. All he could see was one of the Tyrannosaurs sniffing at the jeep. The other one was missing . . . again.

Jodie was shaking horribly, as the snout of the curious T-Rex began to get closer and closer. She closed her eyes tightly, and tried to stop herself from trembling. The T-Rex was unsure of what to do next. It took a step back and roared at the jeep. Jodie put her hands over her ears without opening her eyes.

Alan continued to observe the dinosaur's behavior. It must have thought something was in the jeep, and with Jodie nowhere in sight, Alan realized that it was probably her. He thought about jumping up and getting its attention, but that would leave him out in the open. He would be tracked and killed for sure, but then Jodie would have the chance to get away.

As he was weighing the pros and cons, he heard the sound of a helicopter. He smiled. He hoped that they had some sort of weaponry at their disposal. While he was kneeling on the ground, smiling, the ground began to shake again. The other T-Rex approached the one already there. Alan watched as the two seemed to be communicating with one another. Then, one of them went to the other side of the jeep. One of its legs came very close to where Alan was, but he managed to get out of the way.

Ian had made his way around the control room, and was on his way to the maintenance road ahead of him. The lead T-Rex was still very much in pursuit, as it continued to hunt the fast-moving jeep. Ian was getting worried that he wouldn't be able to shake it. He reached the maintenance road and made a sharp right, going further into the park, just as Alan had done. When he passed the Monorail/Mall building, he made another hard right and began to drive around that building. The T-Rex followed the first turn easily, but was tricked by the second turn. Its large body kept going forward, as Ian's jeep took off around the building. It was finally able to slow down enough to charge off to the right. It let out another roar, as it rumbled by the side of the building.

Jodie became very uneasy at the uncomfortable silence all around her. She was about to burst from fear, when she heard the helicopter, too. She smiled, but it went away instantly, as the jeep began to shake back and forth.

Alan was still under the safety of the trees. He watched in both awe and fear, as the two Tyrannosaurs took turns pushing the jeep with their snouts. Finally, after nearly toppling the jeep over once, the T-Rex on the right stepped back and let the other one ram into the jeep with more force. The jeep turned over on its right side. Jodie had braced herself in the tiny space under the glove compartment, and managed to keep herself there. When she looked to her left, she could see the ground right next to her head. She was understandably frightened, but relaxed just a little bit, when she looked beyond the jeep. She could see Alan hiding in the tree line, not very far from her. She looked at him with intense fear, as well as tears, in her eyes. She could see that he was thinking of something to do. To her horror, she watched him stand up and begin to wave his arms and shout. Her first reaction was that he was insane, as it looked like he was going to sacrifice himself for her. One of the Tyrannosaurs quickly spotted him. It roared and walked away from the jeep and toward the tiny animated human. She screamed at him.

"No! Alan! No!"

Alan did his best to run for cover, behind some taller trees. The T-Rex, with its long strides, got to him quickly. The dinosaur leaned down and began to sniff out the human, who it knew was very near.

Jodie's screams were drowned out by the roaring, which was a good thing for her. The other T-Rex was still hovering close to the jeep. She braced herself, once again, as it began to push on the jeep with its snout. It easily turned the jeep completely over. Jodie found it extremely difficult to stay wedged in the tiny place under the glove compartment. She felt herself slipping, as the T-Rex continued to move the car back and forth.

Alan thought about running, but he knew it would do no good. He was certain that the people in the helicopter would have fired at the T-Rex by now. They must not have had firepower at their disposal. He was about to give up, when the T-Rex began to behave strangely. It roared once, and turned its massive head back, and then it began to swagger. Alan was confused for a second, until he saw the helicopter clearly. Someone from the helicopter had shot the T-Rex. Alan was understandably ecstatic over the timing, but then the T-Rex began to fall in his direction. He moved out of the way, as the very large shadow over the top of him became larger and larger. He was able to get out of its way, just as it crashed to ground in a massive heap. He lay there, for a few seconds, breathing heavily and thanking the heavens that he was still alive.

Jodie was watching the other T-Rex, when the helicopter turned slightly. She saw something go into the shoulder of the T-Rex, and then she heard it roar, as it felt the sharp pain. It began to behave strangely, too. In a few short seconds, it plummeted to the ground, in one giant heap. The ground shook all around, making the jeep quake. In that instant, Jodie slipped from her hiding place and hit the top of the jeep with a thud. She was shaking pretty badly, as another shadow loomed over her. She screamed.

Alan stepped back when Jodie screamed, as it alarmed him slightly. He looked around to see if there were any signs of another dinosaur, but there wasn't. He looked at her in a confused manner.

"I thought you were a dinosaur," she explained.

He laughed.

"Well, lucky for you, I'm not. Come on. Let's get you out of there."

He reached a hand out to her. She grasped it tightly and he pulled her from the damaged jeep. When she was clear from the jeep, she held onto him tightly, crying.

The helicopter checked for other dinosaurs in the immediate area, and then began to land, close to where Alan and Jodie were. The propellers made the dust kick up everywhere, causing them to cover their eyes. The helicopter touched the ground. Alan grabbed Jodie's hand and they began to run to the helicopter.

Ellie was waiting patiently for the helicopter to come back into view. It finally did. She smiled nervously, as she was hoping that they had gotten to Alan and Jodie in time. The helicopter landed in the clearing, next to the dock. Ellie saw that Alan was in the helicopter, along with Jodie. She ran toward the helicopter, completely delighted. Everyone else followed. She got to the large sliding door, that was already opened, and embraced Alan. As the two of them whispered things to each other, Tim got into the helicopter. He saw Jodie.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. They put the T-Rexes to sleep."

Tim nodded. Ethan and Lex got into the helicopter next. Ethan was helping her. Tilk was bringing up the rear. Alan noticed that Ian wasn't there. He let Ellie go and looked at Tilk.

"Where's Ian?"

"He didn't return."

"Which way did he go?"

Tilk pointed toward Ian's last known direction. One of the rescuers closed the sliding door, and the helicopter began to lift off again. Alan made his way to the pilot.

"We're still short one. Can you take it over in that direction," Alan said, pointing toward the Monorail/Mall building.

"Yes, sir," Walker said.

The helicopter flew over Control Room 3, and then flew over the Monorail/Mall building. There were no signs of Ian. Then, Tilk spotted the jeep. They all looked at it. It had been driven right into the side of the building, and it was empty. There was a Tyrannosaurus Rex nearby, walking away from the building.

"It looks as though that Rex got him," Walker guessed.

"Yeah, maybe," Alan said, "but I'm not prepared to give up that easily. He wouldn't give up on me."

Ethan looked at Alan and smiled. All this time, it looked as though his step father and Alan disliked each other, but when push came to shove, they would stand up for one another.

The helicopter continued to make low flying passes, everyone hoping to spot Ian Malcolm . . . alive.


	42. Chapter 42: Return To Civilization

_Chapter 42: Return To Civilization_

  


John Hammond waited rather impatiently for the airplane to land. He had received word that the helicopter had successfully made it to the Baja Peninsula. He had also learned that Tilk had requested to go his own separate way. Hammond had consented to it, making sure that he was paid immediately. The rest of them had transferred to a plane, and were now on their way to where Hammond was. California. The plane finally landed and came to a slow and uneventful stop on the tarmac.

Jodie was the first person out of the plane. Alan and Ellie were right behind her, holding hands. Alan noticed John Hammond and Henry standing in the small crowd. He wanted to be angry with Hammond, but all that came to mind was smiling. He figured it must have had something to do with the drugs he had been given for his pain. As they finished walking down the staircase, Hammond approached them, with the assistance of Henry.

"I'm so pleased to see the two of you," he said to Alan and Ellie. He looked at Jodie. "And you, Ms. Grant. Your father is worried sick about you."

"Great," Jodie said, smirking.

Alan laughed.

"Now, Jodie. I promised to help you out with your dad, but you have to be willing to give in a little bit, you know," Alan said.

"Sorry. I'll try."

Hammond smiled. He was about to say something else, when he saw his grandchildren coming down the staircase. He quickly excused himself and went toward Tim and Lex. Lex half ran, half limped to her grandfather and hugged him tightly. Tim stood back a little, giving his sister some room. When Lex finally let him go, Tim took a few steps toward him.

"Hi Grandpa," he said, extending his hand.

Hammond smiled.

"Oh, never mind the formalities, boy. Come here."

Hammond grabbed Tim and hugged him. Tim returned the hug and laughed. Hammond gestured for Lex to come closer. She did, and the three of them stood in a group hug for a few minutes. 

"You're mother will be here shortly. She was unavoidably detained, I'm afraid."

"Okay," Lex whispered.

Hammond finally broke it off the group hug, as he looked around.

"Where's Dr. Malcolm?" He asked.

"He's in the plane," Tim answered.

"Oh, good, good. I'm pleased to see all of you made it through, in one piece," Hammond said.

"With the exception of Alan, maybe. He's in pretty bad shape, Grandpa," Lex said.

Alan, Ellie, and Jodie had walked closer to Hammond.

"Now, Lex. I'm fine. Don't go worrying your Grandfather like that," Alan said.

Hammond took a good look at Alan. He had several deep gashes in his face and his left arm was in a very tightly wrapped sling. It looked like he might fall over any second, as he seemed very fragile. Ellie was holding onto him, to help him keep steady.

"Alan, you do look frightful. Maybe you should go directly to the hospital," Hammond suggested.

Ellie nodded in agreement.

"That's where we're heading, John."

Ellie turned Alan around and helped him walk toward one of the many cars Hammond had provided for all of them. Jodie followed closely behind.

"Wait, just a minute," Hammond called out to them.

Ellie stopped and turned around. Hammond looked at Henry.

"Would you be so kind, as to get that packet of papers we talked about earlier?"

"Sure, Mr. Hammond," Henry said, as he ran off toward Hammond's limo.

Tim and Lex helped Hammond, as he took a few steps toward Ellie and Alan. Ellie really wanted to get Alan checked into a hospital.

"John, what's this about? Can't we just do this later?" She asked.

Henry ran up to Hammond, with a folder in hand. He handed it to Hammond.

"Here," Hammond said with a smile, handing the folder to Ellie.

She took it.

"What is this?"

"All you need to do is, sign at the bottom of each of those papers in there," Hammond said, pointing to the folder.

Ellie stared at the folder in her hand, and then she looked up at Hammond.

"John, what's in here?"

"Your divorce papers, dear," Hammond said.

Ellie was completely caught by surprise. She hadn't thought about Mark or her upcoming long divorce proceedings, for quite a while now. She looked at Alan, who was already looking at her. She looked back at Hammond, with a look of confusion.

"When you sign those papers, everything will belong to you. The children, the house, the car, the truck, the bank account . . . to which I added a little bit too . . . and the silly parrot."

Ellie didn't know how to respond.

"Wow. John, how did you do this?" She asked, looking down at the folder again.

"You don't want to know, dear," he answered, smiling at her.

"I would like to know, John. But there's a time and a place for everything," she said, gesturing to Alan. "And it's time to get him to a hospital."

"Fine, fine. We can discuss all of the details you want, at dinner, when Alan is feeling better," Hammond said.

"Yes, let's do that, John," Alan said.

With all this talk of folders and paperwork, Ellie thought about Henry Wu's journals.

"John, Ian was able to save some important evidence for you."

"Oh, really? Where is that man?" Hammond said, looking toward the plane.

Ian walked out in that instant, along with Ethan. Ian was noticeably limping, but he had that same broad smile on his face, like always. Back on Isla Norte, he had finally been discovered by Tilk, as he had been hiding under the jeep, hoping that the T-Rex would go away. One of the rescuers had tranquilized the third T-Rex, and then had landed, safely picking up Ian. Now, he and Ethan walked down the stairs and approached everyone. Hammond smiled.

"Ian, how's the leg?"

"It's all right, John. Just a little sore."

Hammond switched from looking at Ian, to looking at Ethan.

"Ethan Davis. I'm so happy to see you, young man," Hammond said.

Alan laughed. For some reason, he felt like making Hammond nervous.

"So you know him, huh?"

Hammond did, in fact, become slightly nervous, as he realized one of his fibs was just exposed. He tried to put the old Hammond spin on the situation.

"Oh, yes. Young Ethan here, was helping me shut Marcus Envoy down for good."

Ellie playfully punched Alan in the arm, and whispered something to him, clearly scolding him. Ethan smiled and handed John a strange looking rectangular looking object. Hammond took it from him. Ethan could see that he had no idea what it was, so he explained.

"That is the portable hard drive from Daniel Nupin's extra laptop. There should be enough evidence on that drive to arrest Mr. Envoy. He also murdered Dr. Wu."

"Henry Wu?" Hammond asked.

"Yes, sir. Dr. Wu was assisting me on the island. Mr. Bodan found out and told Mr. Envoy. Mr. Envoy had him killed. There are a few memos discussing that exact thing in there," Ethan said, pointing at the tiny hard drive in Hammond's hands.

"How strange," Hammond said, rubbing his jaw, as if in deep thought.

"Why is that strange, sir?" Ethan asked.

"Henry Wu is not dead, Ethan," Hammond said.

"What?"

Hammond chuckled.

"Mr. Wu is working in one of my labs. He's been there for about a month."

"Really?"

"Yes. When he left Isla Norte, I offered him a job immediately."

"I'm shocked. I thought he was dead."

"He's very much alive, I assure you. I thought you knew that he had faked his death, to get out of there. Mr. Bodan and Mr. Envoy had gotten to close to his cover, so he needed a way out."

"Well, he should be pleased with all of the data on that hard drive. He helped me obtain most of it," Ethan said, still shocked.

Ian was just standing by, listening to the conversation. The last part reminded him that he had some evidence, as well.

"And ahhh, there's more," Ian added, as he reached into his jacket pocket. "Here are some excerpts from Dr. Wu's journals that Ellie and I had found. On actual real paper."

Hammond took the folder from Ian. He handed everything to his assistant, Henry.

"This is such good news. We will be able to shut that island down . . . and all of you have come back safe."

"We're going to the hospital now, John," Ellie said.

Hammond nodded. Ellie turned Alan around again. They went toward the car. Ellie and Jodie helped Alan get in.

"Would it be okay if I rode up front?" Jodie asked.

"Sure, I don't see a problem with that," Ellie said.

Jodie got into the passenger seat, while Ellie got in next to Alan. When she glanced at him, she found him already looking at her. She held up the folder.

"What do you think about this?" She asked.

"I think that John Hammond is a good friend to have on our side."

Ellie nodded in agreement.

"Yes. But what do you think about it?"

Alan smiled at her.

"I think it's good, Ellie. I think that you can move to Montana, anytime you want to now. If that's what you still want, that is."

"Yes, that's what I want, Alan."

She leaned in close and kissed him. He placed a hand on her face, as they continued to kiss. The car drove away, as Ellie cuddled up to Alan in the backseat.


	43. Epilogue

_Epilogue_

  


_One Month Later_

  


Lex was running around the kitchen in her apartment, trying to get all of the ingredients she would need to make the perfect dinner. She had already been to the grocery store three times in the last hour, and she was just about sure that she had everything she needed now. She had the radio on and was singing with it, as she prepped the steaks. The radio was so loud, that she almost missed the phone ringing. She jogged to the other side of the room, turned the radio down, and picked up the phone. Her hands were completely messy.

"Hello?"

"Lex, I need you to get something for me at Mom's house," Tim asked.

Lex sighed, as she looked at the condition of her kitchen.

"Can't you get Mom to get something from Mom's house, Tim?"

"Yeah, except for she's not answering her phone. I've been trying to call her all day."

Lex thought about it for a minute.

"Oh, yeah. She was going out to an auction, or something, with Grandpa. She told me she wouldn't be home until late tonight."

"Okay. So, could you go over there for me?"

"What do you need so bad, that you can't wait til tomorrow? I'm a little busy here."

"It's a very important phone number. If I don't call Professor Smith by tonight, I can forget about getting into that museum in Montana."

"Can't you just look it up again?"

Tim was getting annoyed.

"No. It's his private number."

"Can't you get if from Dr. Grant again?"

Alan had set up a meeting with the curator of the museum in Montana, after Tim expressed some interest in moving out that way, for the summer. It was a very good job with the Fort Peck Project team. Tim had gotten into paleontology because of Alan in the first place, really, and it would be great if he could actually work near the man. And maybe, someday, he could actually work alongside Alan, on a dig site. It would be after some years of schooling, of course, but he had it to look forward to. Right now, Tim was working the job at the University of California Museum of Paleontology that he had so desperately wanted, also rescheduled, and reconfirmed by Alan.

"No," Tim said bluntly.

"Why?"

"Because."

Tim didn't want to look stupid, calling Alan back for a phone number that he should not have misplaced in the first place. He couldn't understand why his sister didn't understand that.

"Because why?" Lex continued.

Tim took the phone away from his mouth. Lex was sure he was hitting it up against something in anger.

"Will you just go over there. You're being a pain, Lex. Please, just go over there."

"Okay, okay."

"Thank you."

"I'll call you later with the number."

"Why are you so busy today anyway? Gotta a hot date or something?" Tim asked.

Lex didn't answer.

"Oh, my God. You have a hot date tonight," Tim repeated, laughing. "Unbelievable."

Lex took offense to that.

"And why is that unbelievable?"

"I'm just joking with you."

Lex relaxed some.

"Yeah, whatever. I'm hanging up now."

"Wait, wait. Who is it?"

"Good bye, Tim."

"Come on, Lex. Tell me."

Lex thought it over a second or two. While she was silent, Tim took some guesses.

"It's not that guy from that gym, is it? What's his name again? Stan?"

"No, it's not Stan."

"It's not that guy from Kinko's is it? I hope not. He was creepy."

"No, Tim. It's not the guy from Kinko's."

"How about that---"

"It's Ethan," Lex said, cutting her annoying brother off.

"Who?"

"Ethan Davis. Ian's stepson. Remember? Computer guy. Getting chased by dinosaurs? Any of this ring a bell, Tim?"

She could hear him laughing on the other end.

"How did you manage that one?" He was finally able to ask.

"What do you mean?" Lex asked, clearly offended again.

"Did you call him or something?"

"No. He called me. We've been talking since two days after the incident on Isla Norte. He lives in California, too. San Francisco area. He's flying in tonight. We're going to have dinner."

Lex was staying at her apartment for the rest of the summer, and then she was planning on finding a place close to Stanford again. And now that she knew Ethan lived in the Bay area, she would be very close to him, as well.

"Oh, I see," Tim said.

"I have no idea why I'm telling you this. I'm going now. I've got a lot of cooking to do, before he gets here at 7:00. If I have to go get you a stupid phone number, I'll have to get a move on here."

"Okay. Thanks, Lex. I owe you one," Tim said, and then he actually became sincere, "and good luck with tonight."

"Thanks. Talk to you later."

Lex hung up the phone and grabbed her keys and purse, heading for the door. On the drive to her Mom's house, she was thinking about her life and how Ethan could fit into it. She decided that he would fit just perfectly, if that's what he wanted, as well. She smiled, as she continued down the road.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marcus Envoy was sitting all by himself in the waiting area. He had been cuffed to the table by one of the security officers and was waiting, rather impatiently, for his unknown visitor. Finally, after about ten minutes, the door to the waiting room opened. Envoy looked toward the door and frowned.

"John Hammond. Why on earth would you come here to see me. I have told you over and over again, that I do not want to see you."

Envoy stood up and began to make loud vocal requests to be taken back to his cell. Hammond smiled, as Henry assisted him to the table.

"Now, now, Marcus. I have come here in a completely innocent manner. I simply want to talk to you for a few minutes, and then I'll be on my way, I assure you. Please, stop that annoying yelling, would you?"

Envoy looked at him, and then sat back down, completely quiet.

"What do you want?"

"I understand that you have some information, regarding the whereabouts of Mark Degler."

Envoy smiled, as he realized what the visit was for.

"I might have something. Yes."

"Well, I would be willing to hear you out, if you like."

"Mr. Hammond, why would I want to reveal anything to the man responsible for putting me in here?"

Envoy had been picked up from Isla Norte, about three hours after everyone else had left the island. He had been very afraid for those three hours. He had tried to reach Bodan or Jacob on the walkie talkie, but neither man answered. He had slowly begun to realize that he was all alone on the island. And to make matters worse, the Suchomimus had made its way through the large underground tunnel and was investigating the area around the lodge, which had been where Envoy was hiding. He had remained on the second floor of the building, and was understandably shocked and frightened when he noticed that one of his creations was walking very close to where he was hidden. Just when he had thought the giant dinosaur would find him and tear down the walls to get to him, he had heard a helicopter. He had been able to communicate with the helicopter with his walkie talkie and had made his way to the roof of the lodge. He had been safely picked up there, only to be arrested soon after, when he had arrived back on the Baja Peninsula.

He could still picture the Suchomimus roaring at the tiny helicopter, as it lifted off and made its way back to Mexico. It was something that he would never soon forget, as it was also the one thing that gave him numerous nightmares at night.

Hammond simply smiled.

"I believe it was you, yourself, responsible for your arrest, Marcus. Not I. You dug your own grave, so to speak."

Envoy became angry again.

"Get out. I'm finished talking with you."

Hammond stood up slowly, with Henry's help.

"Okay. I'll leave, if that's what you want. But let me tell you this. If you would have cooperated, I would have been able to get your sentence reduced."

Envoy let Hammond get all the way to the door before he finally spoke.

"How could you get my sentence reduced?"

"Let's just say that I have friends in high places, Marcus. Friends who owe me."

"And you can guarantee that my sentence will be reduced?"

"Yes. I can guarantee that."

Envoy stared into the man's eyes for a few minutes. He had nothing to lose. If he said nothing, he would rot in prison forever. If he did say something, he might still rot in prison just as long, but Hammond could have been telling the truth. He decided to cooperate.

"Mark Degler is in France. At least, that was the last report that I received on him."

Hammond grew very excited, as he came back to the table.

"And when was this?"

"About a week ago," Envoy answered.

Henry had been quiet up until that point. He felt the need to ask something now.

"How are you continuing to receive information about Mr. Degler, from here, sir?"

Hammond smiled to himself, as Henry asked the exact question that he was about to ask. Envoy laughed.

"I have my ways, young man."

Hammond sat back down.

"Who would I contact to find out the exact information?"

"My associate, Charles Frederick."

"And where can I find this Mr. Frederick?"

"I will have him contact you. He doesn't want people to know where he is."

"Okay, then," Hammond said, as he got up again. "I'll be in touch, Marcus."

Envoy stood up, as well.

"I hope you keep your word, old man."

Hammond turned to look at Envoy. In a few ways, the man was like a younger version of himself. There was a lot more that was different, though. He admired the way Envoy had built his empire, but he didn't admire the way he managed it.

"I will keep my word."

Hammond and Henry left the waiting area and made their way outside. Henry assisted Hammond into the limo, and then got in next to him. The driver started the limo.

"Sir, why would you care where Mark Degler is?"

"I don't, Henry."

"Then why did we come all of this way to ask about him?"

"I wanted to get the name of Envoy's contact. This Charles Frederick person needs to be found and arrested, as well. The authorities thought that I might be able to coax a name from Envoy, and they were correct."

"That is truly incredible, sir."

"Thank you, Henry."

The limo began to move.

"But why would you even care at this point?"

"Because if I cooperate fully with the proper people, I might be allowed to salvage some of what is left on that island, Henry."

"I don't follow you."

Hammond grew a little wary of all of the questions.

"I was able to make my Site B into a biological preserve, protecting the animals on the island. I'm hoping to be able to bring some of the new species of dinosaurs from Isla Norte, back to Isla Sorna. They would be safe there. Safe and protected."

Henry simply nodded, as he didn't want to get into a debate with his employer. Hammond laughed.

"I think the time has come, Henry. I have decided to no longer keep secrets from you. You are one of my most trusted employees and friends, so I will try to be a little more open with you from now on."

"Thank you, sir."

The limo turned out of the jailhouse and continued down the road.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  


Ian was in a taxi, on his way home. He hadn't been home since the events on Isla Norte, and he was very much looking forward to some rest and relaxation. He had been on a whirlwind tour of sorts, for Hammond, traveling the country, doing seminars. Everything about the dinosaurs was out in the open now, and Hammond had asked him to be the mouthpiece for the movement to imprison Envoy indefinitely. Of course, Ian couldn't let the chance go by, to tell the world that he wasn't crazy after all. He became very well known, all over again, only this time it was in a good way. This time, he was admired, and not made into the butt of jokes. He was able to get his credibility back, in just a few short weeks. And, as an added bonus for Hammond, people were warming up to his "save the animals" campaign.

The taxi stopped in front of his house, in the upper West side of New York City. He got out and grabbed his bags from the trunk. He tipped the taxi driver, and then walked up the stairs to his front door. When he opened the door, and walked inside, his taste buds were instantly hit with a very pleasant smell. He kicked the door closed, with his leg, and then set his bags down on the floor. He took a few steps toward the kitchen, and then stopped completely shocked by what he saw.

Sarah Harding had moved into the doorway of the kitchen. She was staring at him. Ian thought she looked absolutely beautiful, and then she smiled, making her even more beautiful.

"Hello, Ian," she said softly.

"Sarah," Ian said, nodding.

He still couldn't believe what he was seeing. Sarah had left him over four years ago, although it seemed a lot longer than that to Ian. She had never taken the time to even call him after the breakup, much less show up in the flesh. He did the first thing that came to his mind. He walked up to her and hugged her. She hugged him back, which made him understandably happy. Suddenly, it felt as though she had never left and that it was just a bad dream that he had conjured up in his head. He felt so comfortably at ease, standing in the kitchen, embracing her. And she smelled so good. As he was reminiscing in his mind, he began to remember why she left in the first place. He came back to reality. He let her go and looked at her.

"I thought you hated me," he said.

"Well, I do," she said.

Ian looked confused.

"But you know something, Ian? Love and hate are so very close together, I finally settled for thinking that I loved you so much, it hurt me. I really wanted to see you again. After I found out what had happened to you, on that island . . . again . . . I just had to see you for myself."

"I've missed you, Sarah."

"I've missed you, too, Ian."

Ian looked over her shoulder, into the kitchen.

"Did you cook?"

Sarah laughed at him.

"Oh, come on. You know I don't do the cooking thing. I haven't changed that much."

Ian laughed, as well.

"Well, what smells so good in there, then?" 

"Take-out. You'd be surprised what people will deliver for the right amount of cash. Come on. Let's eat, shall we?"

"After you," Ian said, gesturing toward the kitchen.

The two of them ate and talked for several hours. Ian wasn't quite sure yet, but it looked as though Sarah wanted to get back in his life again, to give it another try. He wanted her back in his life, more than ever before. And he wanted to change. He actually wanted to change. He finally wanted to think of someone, other than himself. He would take this really slow, of course, but since Sarah had made the first move, he knew there was a hint of a chance there. He decided, right then and there, that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Sarah, and he would do his best to talk her into that wild idea.

  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alan was sitting in his trailer at the dig site, talking on the phone with his cousin, Richard. They were planning on taking an extended family vacation, back to where it all began. Melbourne, Australia. Ellie was going, as well, with Charlie and Samantha. Alan was looking forward to introducing Ellie to his family. His parents lived in Australia all their lives, and had only come to visit him once, since he had been in America. It was before he had even met Ellie, so he was excited about them meeting the love of his life.

"So it's all set, then," Richard said.

"Yes. In February, we'll all go down there."

"Ellie will be very surprised, just how crazy our family is, Alan."

"Richard, I'm offended," Alan joked. "It was your side of the family that was crazy, not mine. Don't you remember?"

Richard laughed.

"Okay, you might have a point there."

"Yes, I do," Alan said, laughing, as well.

"So when are you sending Jodie back?"

Jodie had been staying with Alan the last four weeks. She had wanted to see the dig site and spend some time with him. Richard had agreed with no problem, and even promised to come visit himself. Alan was on his way to getting the father and daughter close again. It would be a tough road, but it was attainable.

"Well, I figured I could keep her until school starts again, if that's okay?"

"Sure. She's all yours, Alan."

"She's having a great time here. She's learning a lot about fossils. And Ellie and the kids should be here this afternoon."

"Ellie's not there?"

"No, she needed to go back to Arizona. Something about the house. She's getting ready to sell it."

Ellie had been staying with Alan at the dig site, since they had gotten back. Her mother still had the kids. Patricia had insisted on taking them on an extended vacation, to let Alan and Ellie get all of Ellie's affairs in order. Ellie had seen Charlie and Samantha, about two weeks ago, and now Patricia was bringing them to Montana that afternoon. Ellie was flying in, as well, from Arizona. Soon, the new family would be all together. Alan was able to find Ellie a suitable house to rent, very close to the dig site. He didn't want to pressure the kids into living in the same place with him yet. He and Ellie talked about doing that gradually.

"Oh, I see. Any trouble with her ex-husband?" Richard asked.

"No. Mr. Hammond has assigned bodyguards to all of us. It's a very weird feeling, having a stranger following you around, everywhere you go. But it's necessary I suppose."

"From what I've heard about this guy, Alan, I would have to agree with having the bodyguards," Richard added.

While Alan was talking to Richard, he heard the sound of a car pulling up. He stood up, and looked out his window.

"I've got to go, Richard. Ellie is here."

"Okay. Talk to you later. And tell Jodie I said good-bye."

"I sure will. She's with one of my prized students. I'll tell her to call you later, okay?"

"Thanks."

Alan watched Ellie get out of the car outside. Less than a minute went by, and then he saw another car pull up and stay back, a little way. It was the bodyguard.

"Good-bye," Alan said.

He hung the phone up and quickly made his way outside. Ellie looked completely relaxed, as he approached her. There was a slight wind kicking up, causing her hair to gently wave in the breeze. She had sunglasses on, and Alan could see his reflection in them. He took a good look at himself and smiled, as he noticed how anxious he looked.

"Hello, Ellie," he said.

She smiled at him, and then she hugged him.

"How did your appointment go this morning?"

Alan had gone to the doctor about his shoulder that morning. It was healing satisfactorily, and the appointment was very successful.

"It went well. He said I should have no trouble getting full mobility back. I just need to do some exercises to strengthen the muscles again."

"That's a relief. I was worried about that," Ellie said. Then she looked at him closer. "Where's your shoulder sling? Did he say you could go without it?"

"Not exactly."

"Alan," Ellie said, in a scolding manner.

Alan leaned in and kissed her. The diversion worked. She kissed him back, and put her arms around his neck. Her right hand had a cast on it, that went to about the middle of her forearm.

"I don't really need that sling now, okay? No worries on this end," he said smiling.

Ellie gently laughed. She looked around the dig site.

"My Mother isn't here yet?"

"Nope."

"That's odd. She should have been here already."

"She's always late, Ellie. I wouldn't worry about it."

"You have a point there," she said, agreeing with him.

Alan changed to subject, as they began to walk toward his trailer.

"So, how did the house thing go?"

"Good. I got everything out of it that I wanted. It's officially up for sale now."

Alan nodded, as he opened the trailer door for her. She went inside and he followed.

"You didn't bring anything with you," Alan observed.

"I had it all delivered to the house here."

"I see."

Ellie could see Alan was a little nervous about something, as he kept looking out of the window.

"What is it?"

"I'm just a little anxious about seeing your kids, that's all."

Ellie smiled. She walked up to him and directed him to the little couch in the room. She sat down next to him and grabbed his hand.

"Alan, don't worry about that. I already told you, Charlie thinks you're wonderful. And Samantha will like you, just because Charlie does. She follows her big brother around and does everything he does. They will both like you. Don't worry."

"All right, all right."

"And besides, kids love you to death, Alan. It's a very strange thing, but they do. It's probably because you don't usually like them."

"I've gotten better over the years."

"Yes, you certainly have."

Jodie walked into the trailer, at that moment. She was talking in a very excited manner, moving her hands around, as she talked.

"Kevin is just awesome, Alan. He just showed me that new Velociraptor that was discovered yesterday. It looks nothing like a dinosaur. It's just a few little rocks sticking up."

Alan began to get up from the couch.

"Oh, don't get up for me. I just wanted to come in and tell you that. I'm going back outside. Kevin is going to show me how to categorize the different types of bones, so I have to go."

Alan laughed.

"Okay, Jodie. Have fun. And don't touch anything if Kevin isn't right there."

"Yeah, I know."

Jodie opened the trailer door and ran back outside. Alan settled back on the couch. Ellie looked at him.

"She's having quite a lot of fun here," she said.

"Yeah. I think she has a crush on Kevin."

"That's kind of cute," Ellie said, laughing.

Alan nodded. He was gazing into her eyes, as she continued to laugh.

"You are absolutely beautiful," he whispered.

Ellie's eyes were lit up, as she looked at him.

"I'm so completely happy at this moment. And it's all you're doing. You know that, don't you?"

Alan nodded. He smiled, and leaned in to kiss her. They sat on the couch in his trailer, alone. They were oblivious to the rest of the world. That is, until there was the sound of a car horn. Ellie broke off the kiss and quickly got up, looking through the window. The source of the horn was exactly who she was expecting. She glanced at Alan, who was still on the couch.

"They're here!" She said, as she opened the door and ran out toward the car.

Alan got up, and walked to the door. He watched from inside, as Ellie ran up to the car. Two small children got out and ran toward her, giggling. The little boy had blonde hair, that was slightly overgrown and the little girl had light brown hair. It was medium length, and it resembled Ellie's hair in texture. He watched her kneel down and allow the tiny humans to embrace her. He took a deep breath, opened the door, and walked outside.

Ellie was on the ground, hugging and kissing her children, when she heard the door close behind her. She turned, and when she saw Alan, she looked back at Charlie.

"Do you remember Alan, Charlie?"

Charlie looked at the man who had been coming from the trailer. The man had stopped now, and was just staring at the small boy strangely. His eyes lit up, and Alan could see that he had recognized him.

"The dinosaur man!" He yelled.

Charlie ran up to Alan, who was very surprised that Charlie had remembered him. He knelt down, and the five-year-old jumped into his arms. Alan was stunned by the show of affection. When he had met Charlie the first time, about two years ago, he had no idea that he made just an impression on the child.

"Well, I guess he remembers you," Ellie said, smiling.

Alan looked over to her. Charlie was still holding onto him.

"Yeah, I guess he does."

Charlie let him go and began to hit Alan with a million questions, all at once.

"Can I see the dinosaur bones? Are real dinosaurs scary? What happened to Mommy's hand? I'm hungry. Do you have a bathroom?"

Alan had no idea of which question to answer first. He just stared at the child. Ellie finally spoke.

"Charlie, there's a bathroom in that trailer. Just go in there and make a left."

"Okay, Mommy," Charlie said.

He skipped to the trailer door, and then he opened it.

"You know which way is left, don't you?" Ellie called out to him.

"Yes," Charlie answered, as if that was a ridiculous question.

Ellie still had Samantha in her arms. She let her daughter go and stood up. She walked up to Alan, while holding Samantha's hand.

"Sam, this is Alan," Ellie said, introducing the two of them.

Alan was still kneeling down. He smiled nervously.

"Hello, Sam."

Samantha didn't say a word. The three-year-old just stared at him. Alan began to feel very uneasy.

"Say hello, Sam," Ellie said, trying to coax her.

Samantha slightly nodding at him, and then she quickly moved away from him and back toward the car. Alan could see that Patricia was out of the car now. He watched her put a bag on the roof of the car and grab Samantha. He slowly got to his feet and walked to her. As he approached, Samantha got down and got back into the car quickly. Alan didn't think much of it, as he reached Ellie's mother.

"Patricia," he said, nodding.

"Alan," she said, nodding.

Patricia grabbed Alan and hugged him. When she broke the hug off, she looked at him again.

"You're just as handsome as ever," she said, smiling.

"And you're just as stunning, as ever," he countered.

Patricia laughed. She really liked Alan. She was very happy that Ellie was back with him.

"Thank you for saving my daughter. In more ways than one."

"You're very welcome," Alan said.

Ellie came up to them. Her mother had turned around, grabbed a grocery bag from the roof of the car, and had handed it to Alan.

"What's in the bag?" Ellie asked.

"Some of Charlie's toys, that's all. He insisted that they be put into a separate bag, so they wouldn't get lost."

Ellie laughed.

"That kid is so protective of his little trucks."

Alan was already heading for the trailer, with the bag in his hand. Ellie was about to follow, when Patricia grabbed her arm.

"Samantha has been asking questions about him," she said, gesturing to Alan, who was now all the way to the trailer door.

"Really? What kinds of questions?"

"Stuff like, Who is he? Why do we have to move? Why did he make her Daddy leave?"

"That's terrible. What did you say to her?"

"I told her that you would explain everything."

"You didn't try to answer any of the questions?"

"Well, I told her that Alan was a good friend of yours, and that he was helping you through a tough time."

"Mom, she's three. I don't think she understood that."

"You're probably right. That's why you need to talk to her right away."

"Well, where is she?" Ellie asked, looking around.

"She's in the car."

"Okay, I'll get her. Go on in. I think we're going to dinner in just a little bit."

Patricia nodded and headed for the trailer. Ellie found Samantha in the car. She opened the car door and sat next to her daughter. The two of them continued to talk for a few minutes. Patricia reached the door and went inside. Charlie was already on the floor, playing with his little trucks, while Alan was right there, looking out of the window.

"So, how's it going out there?" He asked.

"I'm sure it will be fine."

Alan watched Ellie and Samantha get out of the car. They walked toward the trailer. Ellie nodded to Alan, but he noticed the slight hint of a scowl on Samantha's tiny face. He watched them walk inside the trailer. He kept his distance, as Ellie came in and sat down on the couch. Samantha went to where Charlie was and sat down next to him, watching him play with his trucks. Ellie could see that Alan was very nervous.

"So, where are we going for dinner?" She asked, trying to get him to think of something else.

"I know of a great expensive place. But the waiters are a little clumsy there," Patricia teased.

Alan looked at her and smiled.

"I think I've been to that place, one time too many," he said.

"Let's just go to a family diner. I'm starving," Ellie said.

"Sounds good," Patricia agreed.

"What about Jodie?" Ellie asked.

"I'll just bring her something back. Kevin will have her busy out there for quite awhile."

Alan went over to Charlie. He was the safe kid, as far as he was concerned.

"Charlie, let's pick up these toys, so no one trips over them, okay?"

"Sure," Charlie said.

Ellie and Patricia walked to the trailer door. Alan was kneeling down, helping Charlie put his toys in the bag. Samantha had one of the little metal trucks in her hand. Alan looked at her.

"Let's put that one in the bag, too, okay?"

Samantha stood up and backed away, with the metal truck in her hands. She stopped and screamed at the top of her lungs.

"I HATE YOU! YOU'RE NOT MY DADDY!"

And with those words of anger, she threw the metal toy truck at Alan, as hard as she could. The truck struck in square in the forehead, knocking him back a little bit, since he hadn't expected it in the least. He held onto his head, with complete shock, as he heard Ellie screaming.

"Samantha Lynn!"

Samantha ran past her Mother and Grandmother and managed to get outside. Patricia went after her, lightly laughing under her breath. Ellie watched Patricia reach Samantha, and then she turned to look at Alan. He was still kneeling on the floor, looking slightly dazed and very confused. Charlie had picked up the truck that Samantha threw at him and put it away, into the bag. Ellie stared at Alan for a few seconds, and then just started laughing.

"What is so funny?" He asked.

"You've always been great with kids, honey," she said, as she continued to laugh.

A smile began to develop on Alan's face, as well. Soon, the two of them were laughing, as Ellie helped him up. There was a very nasty little bruise appearing on his forehead already, and it made her laugh even more.

Alan snickered at her. He could hear Samantha crying outside. He shook his head, as he began to think about what sort of new adventure he had gotten himself into. At least it was an adventure that the two of them were going to plunge into, together.

  


The End

  
  


** Want To Go To A Place That's Filled With Info About Jurassic Park New Beginnings? Try here:

  


www.angelfire.com/film/newbeg

  


It's the website for the story, created and maintained by me. It has some fun and interesting info there including, a MAP of Isla Norte, character profiles, a "behind the scenes" section, a Download section to download the entire story at once, and some 3D renderings of some of the buildings used in the story. So please, check it out when you have the time.

  


Thanks for reading the story and please continue on to the "Lost Chapters".

  


Yvonne (yjb@aol.com) :D


	44. The Lost Chapters

  


_The Lost Chapters_

  


_The following chapter is an alternative way for Lex to meet Ian and Ellie. To give you a little background: I was going to split up Tim and Lex, and have Bodan find Lex ... and then have Ian and Ellie find them in the lab. This chapter would have taken place after Lex scarred Bodan's face. Ian was going to hear a noise in the lab and run to where the noise was. And now, without further delay ... here's that lost chapter:_

  
  


_Unused Chapter, Special Added Bonus_

  


Malcolm ran up to where the noises were heard. Ellie was right behind him. When he reached the door, it was locked. He could hear yelling and crying coming from the inside. He knocked on the door.

"Hello? Anyone in there?"

Lex heard a man's voice at the door. She was relieved for a second. She started to call out to the voice, but Bodan stopped her. He put his hand over her mouth and looked around for something he could use to shut her up. He found a row of oxygen tanks lined up against the far wall. He wrestled her that way and grabbed one of the tanks. He let her go, so that he could get a good grip on it. Lex wasn't even looking at Bodan. When he let her go, she took the opportunity to yell at the unknown man at the door.

"Please, HELP ME!"

Bodan quickly silenced her, though. He took the oxygen tank and shoved it into her stomach. She fell down hard, gasping for air.

Ellie and Malcolm heard the desperate cry for help. Malcolm started to throw his body weight into the door, to try and jar it open.

Bodan bent down and slapped Lex in the face. He was about to attack her again, when he noticed the man on the other side of the door almost had it open. He decided he could just shoot the man behind the door, but when he reached for his gun, it wasn't there. He grabbed Lex's hair and jerked her head up. Her breathing was getting more normal, but she was crying.

"Alexis, I am going to kill you, my dear. Just not right now. It seems that I've lost my gun. This scar you put on my face will make me suffer forever. So I'm going to come up with something that will make you suffer in the same manner."

Bodan smiled at her, and then quickly exited the room, just as Malcolm forced the door open. Ellie saw the shadow of a dark figure running through a door near the back of the huge room. Malcolm saw a young woman lying on the floor in the corner of the room, trying to get up. He ran to her.

"You okay?" He asked, as he helped the young woman up.

Lex felt like she was about to die. Her stomach was hurting so bad, she thought she might have to throw up. In a few minutes though, that feeling had gone away. She didn't look up at the man who had just burst into the room, saving her life. Every time she moved her head, she felt dizzy. 

"Yeah, I think I'm okay," she said, coughing. "I think I'll feel better if I stand up."

"Okay, then," the man said.

Lex thought the man's voice sounded vaguely familiar. Malcolm helped Lex get to her feet. As she was standing, she took a good look at the man and recognized him.

"Dr. Malcolm?" She asked in disbelief.

Malcolm nodded and stared at her for a few seconds. She looked familiar, but he couldn't quite place her. Then it hit him.

"Lex?" He finally asked.

"Yes! Yes, Dr. Malcolm. It's me . . . Lex! Oh my God, am I glad to see you!"

She threw her arms around him and held onto him very tight. He noticed she was shaking pretty bad.

"Ian, a man ran through that door back there," Ellie said, pointing.

Lex lifted her head up at yet another familiar voice.

"Dr. Sattler?"

Ellie smiled.

"Yeah. Please, Lex, call me Ellie."

"Look at this, we're all together again," Lex said through tears. "Is Dr. Grant here, too?"

"Yes, he is . . . somewhere. We got separated. Lex, what happened? Who was that man?" Ellie asked.

"His name is Patrick Bodan. He works for Biosyn I think."

"I heard yelling and crying. Did he hurt you?" Malcolm asked.

"A little bit, maybe."

"Well, where was he going?" Malcolm asked, as he started to walk toward the door the man left from.

"I don't know, Dr. Malcolm. Don't follow him," Lex said, as she pulled his shirt.

"Please, you can call me Ian."

"Ian, Bodan is crazy. He would have killed me if you hadn't come along."

"Killed you?"

Lex nodded and stood there, looking at Malcolm. Dizziness swept over her again. She collapsed in his arms.

"Lex? Lex?" He said over and over again.

Lex had passed out. Malcolm gently set her on the floor and sat next to her, looking her over. Ellie knelt down next to them. Malcolm looked at her.

"Ellie, can you watch her? I'm going to see where that guy went."

"Yeah, I'll stay with her, Ian. But are you sure you want to go chasing a crazy guy on your own?"

"I'm just going to check the next couple of rooms back there, to make sure they're safe."

Ellie nodded and went back to tending to Lex. Malcolm reached the rear door, went through it, and then closed it back.

About ten minutes later, Lex woke up. She looked up at Ellie, and then looked around the room.

"Where's Dr. Malcolm?"

"He went to make sure the building is safe."

Lex sat up rather quickly. The sudden movement made her head spin, but she got up anyway.

"He went to find Bodan, didn't he?"

"No, Lex. He just went to make sure the next few rooms are safe."

"He can't find Bodan, Ellie. That guy will hurt him. He's a trained killer."

"Lex, Ian didn't go searching for Bodan. He'll be back in a minute."

Malcolm had gone through two rooms now, and was about to go into a third room. He opened the door and, to his surprise, he found a very large man standing in the room. He guessed it was Bodan.

Bodan turned toward the door when he heard it open. He had succeeding in finding his gun outside and was working his way back through the lab. He saw a man standing in the doorway. He made a mental note of the man's face and recognized him.

"Dr. Ian Malcolm. One of Hammond's little helpers."

"Patrick Bodan. Abuser of young women."

Bodan smiled at Malcolm. He seemed pleased in knowing that Malcolm knew what happened with Lex.

"Oh, Dr. Malcolm, I didn't hit Ms. Murphy all that much. Only as much as she deserved." He touched his face. "She just deserved a lot."

Malcolm thought about going after Bodan, but the man was entirely too big for Malcolm to even think he could win. He was thinking of a way to get out of the situation and back to Ellie and Lex, when Bodan pulled a gun on him.

"Hands up, Dr. Malcolm. Let's go pay another visit to my dear and beautiful Alexis."

Malcolm put his hands up.

"Bodan, leave her alone. She's an innocent bystander here."

"Innocent? Innocent?" Bodan said, laughing. "See this?" He pointed to the right side of his face. "This is what that innocent bystander did to me, Dr. Malcolm."

"I'm sure you deserved it."

Bodan smiled.

"Okay, enough small talk. Turn around. Go. And keep your hands up."

Malcolm did as he was instructed. The two men walked through the next two rooms, and then made it to the door of the room the ladies were in. Malcolm stopped.

"Dr. Malcolm, open the door."

Malcolm reluctantly opened the door and went inside. Lex saw him right away and smiled. She started walking toward him.

"Ian, I thought something bad may have happened to you," she said, relieved.

"Well . . . not yet," Malcolm said. "Lex, go back to where Ellie is."

Lex stared at him with confusion on her face, then she saw why he was being so protective. Bodan walked slowly into the room with his gun still drawn. He looked at Ellie.

"Dr. Sattler. Pleased to finally meet you."

Ellie looked at him strangely.

"How do you know me?"

"Oh, I've been well briefed on you, Dr. Malcolm here, and Dr. Grant," Bodan looked around the room. "Where is Dr. Grant?"

"Obviously, he's not here," Malcolm commented.

"Never mind that, anyway," Bodan said, smiling. He looked at Lex. "Alexis, I would like you to come with me."

Lex walked a little closer to Malcolm. Tears started coming down her face again, but she didn't lose it. She thought about not going, but that would probably somehow mean that Ellie and Malcolm would get hurt. They would try to protect her from Bodan, that much was certain to Lex.

Malcolm wasn't about to allow Lex to go anywhere with Bodan. He was standing in between Lex and Bodan.

"She isn't going anywhere with you, Mr. Bodan."

Lex had to stop Malcolm from moving forward. She whispered to him.

"Please, don't put yourself in danger for me. I'll just go with him."

Malcolm looked at Lex, then he glanced back at Ellie, and finally he looked at Bodan.

"I don't think so, Lex."

"Do you want me to shoot you, Dr. Malcolm? I don't really want to do that at this point because I may need you later on. But if want that, I'll oblige you, sir."

Ellie walked toward them.

"Okay, everyone. Let's try and calm down, okay? Things have not gone the way they should of so far, so if we stay calm, we can all get out of this unharmed."

Bodan laughed.

"It seems all of us will be fine, with the exception of Alexis. Come on, my dear."

Malcolm was about to protest again, when Bodan struck him in the head with his gun. Bodan didn't care for the conversation any longer.

"Ian!" Ellie yelled.

Malcolm didn't even hear Ellie. He felt his legs give out and then he hit the floor, unconscious. Ellie ran to him. Lex was about to kneel down, when Bodan grabbed her by the shirt and dragged her toward the back of the room. Ellie stood back up.

"Mr. Bodan."

Bodan turned around and glared at Ellie.

"What? What is it that you think you can do about this situation, doctor?"

Ellie couldn't think of anything to do or say. She began to feel helpless, just like she would with Mark.

Bodan twisted Lex's arm and made her cry out. He looked back at Ellie.

"Dr. Sattler, I suggest you stay out of problems that don't involve you. I wouldn't want to have to beat you into minding your own business. After all, isn't that what your dear and sweet husband is for?"

Ellie stood there, looking at Bodan. She suddenly felt very frightened. How did this stranger know so much about her? She wanted to help Lex, she really did. But the thought of being harmed was stopping her from moving forward. She began to gather up enough courage to help Lex. She took a deep breath and took a few steps toward Bodan. He reacted by taking a few steps toward her, getting right up in her face, closing his hand, and punching Ellie in the face.

Ellie fell down hard, holding her hand to her bruised face. Lex screamed. Bodan hit Ellie with such force, that Lex didn't think she was even conscious. Ellie was still awake, though. She moved her hand from her face and noticed blood on it. She started to panic. She laid there, looking at Bodan and Lex. She didn't get back up. She felt totally useless, as she started to shake uncontrollably. Her eyes began to water.

Lex was looking at Ellie. Bodan had mentioned that Ellie was married and that she was constantly abused. Lex guessed that Ellie probably married Grant. And Grant was abusing her? She didn't want to believe that, but anything was possible. Why else would Ellie be with Malcolm? They must have gotten away from Grant.

Lex was trying to get away from Bodan, but he dragged her from the room. As they reached the door, Bodan turned around. Ellie was getting up and he had heard her. He adjusted a switch on his gun and fired it at Ellie.

Lex yelled as Bodan fired the gun. Ellie had already felt something go into her leg and was looking down when Lex screamed. She slowly picked her head up and looked at Lex.. Then, she looked back down at the pain in her leg. She expected to see a bullet, but instead there was a yellow dart stuck in her leg. She started to raise her head up again, but a surge of sleepiness rushed over her. She fell over.

Lex was relieved to see it wasn't a bullet. She was still looking at Ellie, hunched over, as Bodan dragged her out of the room. The fact that Ellie was so upset over Bodan threatening her made Lex really angry. How could Grant turn such a strong and brave woman into what she just saw? She would have to definitely question Ellie about it, if both of them lived that long.

  
  
  


_The above chapter caused the beginning of Chapter 25 to change slightly. Here's the way Alan Grant originally reunited with the Murphy siblings:_

  


_Chapter 25: Getting Re-acquainted With Old Friends (Alternate Beginning)_

  


They carefully walked across the abandoned mall area. This was where visitors could buy Jurassic Island merchandise. Tim noticed that the large double doors were open across the way on the other side. The opened doors let a little bit of light in the room, but it was still very dark. He quietly motioned to Lex to go in that direction. Tim was just about to follow her when...

"WHAM!"

The large door that Tim just shut behind him suddenly flew open! Tim let out a very loud scream, while Lex just dove down behind a nearby check out area. Tim glimpsed a fast moving figure coming straight for him. Very fast! Tim suddenly realized, to his relief, that it was a man - not a carnivorous dinosaur. The man ran right into Tim, knocking him down to the concrete floor. Tim and the man came crashing down with a giant thud. Tim looked up at the man and thought he looked vaguely familiar.

When something ran into the room and knocked Tim down, Lex took cover and started to search for a weapon. She found one. It was a part of a metal clothing rack. It was pretty big and a little awkward to swing around, but she managed. She started to run toward the man that tackled her brother. She figured it was Bodan.

Tim was finally able to recognize the man. It wasn't Bodan, like he had guessed, too. It was Alan Grant! But how and why he was here was a mystery.

Alan started to get up and apologize, but as he rose to his feet, Lex attacked him from behind. He fell right back to the ground, as he was struck in the head by the metal rack. After a few moments to get his bearings back, he tried to turn over. As he did, he quickly had to get out of the way of another attack. The metal rack came crashing down next to his ribs, just missing him. Now he finished turning over and looked in the direction of the attacker.

Lex stood over him yelling at the man to leave her brother alone. She was on her third swing, when she finally saw who she was attacking.

"Dr. Grant? Oh, my God! I thought you were going to hurt my brother! Dr. Grant? Dr. Grant? Are you okay? Dr. Grant?"

Alan peered up at his attacker. His head was spinning. He was very lucky that it wasn't a direct hit to his head, as he could have been killed. He couldn't quite focus on the figure hoovering over him, ranting on and on and on. Then Lex came into focus.

"I take it, you're not happy to see me?" Alan said slowly.

Lex helped Alan to his feet. His head was almost clear now. He noticed how much older and mature she looked. She must have been in her twenties by now.

Lex was happy to see Alan, at first. Then, she remembered how he was the one abusing Ellie. Her smile faded away, as she lifted the clothing rack back up and attempted to hit him again.

Alan, who was not expecting that kind of welcome, was almost struck square in the jaw with the blunt instrument. He reached out and grabbed it, halting the attack.

"What was that for?" He shouted in a confused manner.

"You woman abuser!" Lex yelled, as she jerked the clothing rack from Alan's grasp.

Tim grabbed Lex's arm, as she was about to take another swing.

"What are you doing?" He yelled to his sister.

Lex wrestled her arm away from Tim and was about to attack again.

"He abuses Ellie, Tim. He's not that nice person that we remember."

Alan backed away from Lex, leaving some space between them. He heard everything Lex was saying and was dumbfounded by it all. He looked at Lex and held his hands up.

"I give up, I give up. I have no idea what you're talking about, though."

"Yeah, Lex. What are you talking about?" Tim asked.

Lex took a break from attacking Alan. She lowered the clothing rack to her side.

"I saw Ellie," she said.

Alan was happy to hear that. He put his hands down.

"You did? Where? Is she okay?" He asked.

"Oh, good one, Dr. Grant. Like you care," Lex said.

Alan was really puzzled by Lex's demeanor.

"Lex, is Ellie okay? Was she hurt?" Alan asked again.

"No, Dr. Grant. She's not hurt. She got away from you."

"I have never hurt Ellie," Alan said.

"Then why was she so scared when Bodan brought it up?"

"You've talked to Bodan?" Alan asked.

"I'm asking the questions, Dr. Grant," Lex said, as she raised the clothing rack back up.

Alan raised his hands again, and took another step away from Lex.

"Okay, okay. Calm down. I have never, in my life, hurt Ellie. Her husband has, though."

"Well, aren't YOU her husband?"

Tim was just standing there, watching the drama unfold. He had no idea what either of them were talking about.

Alan managed to smile. He was still feeling a little bit dizzy from the blow in the head, but he was starting to slowly realize what Lex was getting at.

"No, Lex, I'm not. I'm afraid I screwed that up for myself years ago."

Lex was caught completely off guard.

"Then, who is her husband?"

"His name is Mark Degler."

"And you're sure you're not her husband?"

Alan laughed this time.

"I am absolutely sure. Ellie and I went our separate ways a few years ago."

Lex was beginning to understand now. She started to realize how she had only heard a few facts, and then had simply filled in the missing pieces with her own facts. As she realized all of this, she gave Alan a closer look. He was standing a few feet from her, holding the back of his head. He was hurt because of her. Because of her assumptions. Then she looked at Tim, who was just staring at her. She looked back at Alan.

"Dr. Grant, I am really sorry," Lex said. "I really thought you were the one married to Ellie. I thought you were the one hurting her."

"Can I put my hands down now?"

"Of course. Oh, my God, I'm so sorry," Lex said, as she threw the clothing rack on the floor.

"It's okay. Really. I think I'm all right. Just a little bump on the head, that's all."

Lex frowned, as she thought about how she could have maybe killed him. She couldn't bring herself to look at him again. She looked down at the floor, in embarrassment.

Alan took several steps forward, and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Lex, it's okay. I understand why you did what you did. If I really was hurting Ellie, I would have deserved all that, and more."

"But you didn't."

Alan smiled.

"What could possibly make you smile?" Lex asked.

"Oh, well, I was just thinking that when we get back to the states, you should meet Mark Degler. You could give him a really wonderful greeting," Alan said, rubbing his head.

"I can't believe I could think you would hurt anyone, Alan. I'm so stupid."

"No, you're not. Look, I wish that I was the one married to Ellie. Things would have been a lot better for her," he said.

He looked at Tim and Lex. He had no idea why he just rambled about wishing he was married to Ellie. It hadn't helped at all. He stared at Lex. She still seemed embarrassed by what had happened.

"Let's just get this behind us, okay? I'm all right. Come here."

Lex quickly went to Alan's awaiting arms. He embraced her. She felt so completely safe. All the things she was remembering earlier to calm herself down, rushed back into her mind, as Alan held her. The one person she wished was here with her, was now here with her. And she really felt like he had forgiven her for almost killing him. She wished this moment could last longer. She didn't want to let him go yet.

Tim was standing behind Alan. He noticed some blood on the back of his head.

"Dr. Grant, I think it might be more than a bump on your head," Tim said. "You're bleeding."

Alan let Lex go and checked the back of his head.

"I was already bleeding before that. I'll be fine."

Tim nodded. Now that they were all calm, Alan took a good look at the boy.

"Tim, how old are you now? Are you out of high school yet?"

"Yeah, I just graduated . . . about two days ago. I'm 18," Tim said, thinking about how much longer it seemed, when he received his diploma.

"Congratulations," Alan said.

"Thanks."

Alan looked at Lex.

"Tim's 18, so that makes you, what? Twenty-something?"

"Twenty-two," she said.

Alan laughed.

"Wow. Where did the time go? I turn my back for a minute, and the two of you become adults," Alan said, smiling.

  
  
  


_The following chapter was going to happen some time after Alan and Ellie finished using the computer, near the end of the story. Ethan was going to meet back up with them, in this alternative chapter. A little background: Ethan was in a building, alone. He was about to go and meet up with Alan and Ellie, when he was stopped. Ian, Jodie, Tim and Lex were all in the Visitors Center._

  


_In the Visitors Center, there is a safety mechanism installed. It is designed to stop the water from going past the first floor of the building, in case the underwater viewing areas are tampered with, or unexpectedly cracked. This process is known as "activating the flood gates". It would seal the Visitors Center up, stopping the large amount of water from overflowing into the park, much like the emergency doors that shut on Jacob and Smith, when they were in the underground area. So, here's that chapter:_

  


_Another Bonus Chapter: Bodan/Jacob Alan/Ellie/Ethan_

  


Ethan turned around to see Jacob standing in the doorway. He looked very upset.

"What's going on, Ethan?"

Ethan became understandably scared. The prospect of Jacob being angry with him was very intimidating. He looked down, without answering.

"You should look at your executioner, young Ethan," a different voice stated.

Ethan looked up quickly. He already knew who it was. When he looked up and stood face to face with Bodan, he started to physically shake.

"Mr. Bodan, sir. Why do I feel like I'm in trouble?" Ethan asked nervously.

Bodan shook a finger at him.

"Ethan, Ethan, Ethan. You have been very busy. Why not take responsibility for your actions? It could prove to be easier on you," Bodan said coldly.

Ethan was about to deny any involvement again, when Alan and Ellie were escorted, by gunpoint, into the room.

"Now, Ethan. I know, for a fact, that these two couldn't have possibly shut off the power in the Pterodactyl Aviary and redirected that power to the Megalodon Holding Area, on their own."

Ethan was sweating very badly. He wiped the sweat away from his forehead, as Bodan and Jacob continued to stare at him for answers.

"Mr. Bodan. I told them how to use the computer, to save us all from the Meg. It was about to free itself. That would have been a disaster, don't you think?" Ethan asked, hoping and praying that his punishment wouldn't be death.

"Ethan, I want you to do something for me," Bodan said.

"What, sir?"

"Activate the flood gates in the Visitors Center."

Ethan shook his head.

"I can't do that, sir."

Alan and Ellie weren't really clear about what Bodan was asking Ethan. They stood quietly, trying to figure it out.

"Ethan. I advise that you do what you are told," Jacob suggested.

Jacob lifted up his gun, aiming it at Ethan. Ethan took a deep breath.

"If I activate the flood gates, the people in the Visitors Center will be drowned."

"Yes. But the Meg would be pulled back to the Underwater Viewing Area, allowing us to capture it," Jacob said.

Alan and Ellie suddenly realized what was being asked of Ethan. Ian, Jodie, Tim and Lex were trapped in the Visitors Center. They would be killed. Alan stepped forward, to Ellie's dismay.

"Please, don't do that," Alan said to Bodan.

Jacob lowered his gun down and walked up to Alan. Ethan sighed with relief, as the gun wasn't aimed toward him anymore.

"The people in the Visitors Center are very insignificant to me, Dr. Grant. But the Meg is another story. Sometimes people are just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Jacob said.

Alan was getting angrier. He knew that he was no match for one of the giant men, much less two of them. But he wasn't going to stand by and do nothing, while people he cared about were killed.

"Wrong place, wrong time? That's it?" Alan asked.

"Don't get involved in this. You will be sorry," Jacob said.

Bodan just stood by, not saying a word. Anger was welling up inside him, though. He was about ready to shut Alan up.

"Well, I am already involved in this. Taking my cousin hostage guaranteed my being involved," Alan said.

Ellie nervously walked up to Alan and grabbed his arm, pulling him gently back.

"Alan, this can't turn out in your favor. Please, step back."

Alan knew that Ellie was right. He started to take a few steps back, like she asked. As he did, Bodan rushed him and attacked him. Bodan grabbed a hold of his left arm and pulled Alan toward him. As he pulled, Alan groaned. Ellie tried to get between them, but Bodan was too quick. He punched Alan in his wounded shoulder, as hard as he could. Alan screamed in agony, but Bodan didn't let go. He struck him in the shoulder two more times, with perfectly executed punches. He spun Alan around, so that they were facing Ellie. He violently pushed Alan toward her. Ellie wasn't able to stop him from falling. He hit the floor hard, face and wounded shoulder first. Blood had splattered from the wound, as it had partially broken open.

"Oh, God. Alan? Alan?" Ellie yelled, as she quickly dropped down to check on him.

Alan didn't answer her. He just lay on the floor, reeling in pain. He didn't even look up at her. His breathing was labored, as he finally brought his other arm around, to hold onto the source of the pain.

Bodan stood over them, smiling.

"Talking just didn't seem to be working with the good doctor," he said to Jacob.

Jacob smiled. He didn't usually care for Bodan's temper, but in this particular instance, it didn't bother him. He directed his attention back to Ethan, as he raised the gun again.

"Ethan. Activate the flood gates. Right now. I won't ask again."

Ethan began to slowly walk toward the computer. Bodan came up to him, grabbed him by the shirt and forced him into the chair.

"There. Activate the damn flood gates. Now," Bodan ordered.

Ellie was still sitting next to Alan. He still wasn't looking at her, but his level of pain seemed to be slowly coming down. He finally looked at her. When he saw the concern on her face, he tried to stop her from worrying.

"I'm . . . okay," he looked over at Bodan and Jacob. They were both over by Ethan, with their backs turned. "We've got . . . to stop them," he managed to get out between gasps and winces.

Ellie glanced over at them. She looked back at Alan.

"Alan, if you try and stop them, I'm sure they'll kill you," she whispered.

"Better me, than all of those young people. They have their whole lives ahead of them."

Ellie stared at him for a moment. She didn't know how to respond to that. Her first reaction was to tell him that he had a whole new life ahead of him, too. But she knew that wouldn't help matters. She finally nodded.

"Okay. Do you have a plan?"

"No," he said, trying his best to smile.

  


_On a side note, I was going to do something with the Meg near the end, but decided against it. That's why there is so much stuff focused on the Meg, in the above chapter._

  


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_And there you have it. The "lost chapters". I hope they were enjoying, and I apologize for the lack of dinosaur action in them. It's just that all the dinosaur action that I had written made it into the story already._


End file.
